Ground Fury
by Sakimu
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless have broken the shackles that bound dragons to Red Death's slavery and gained their long awaited freedom to be themselves. Now, they roam the world. When old friends and new rivals threaten their very way of living, can they overcome? HiccupxToothless
1. Setback

But a dragon could not feed a hungry child nor help a dying woman's pain._ And who would ever dare to love a dragon? _\- George RR Martin, _A Dance with Dragons._

* * *

Hiccup very rarely questioned Toothless. For the most part, it had become an unquestionable truth that what Toothless felt is what _he _felt, and their decisions were always solid for their bond was deep, intrinsic and everlasting. Toothless got excitable at times, yes, and overly playful. But these were things he loved about his dragon as much as his wonderful eyes, earplates and powerful wings. But at this moment he looked at the Night Fury caught up in his own unbreakable excitement. He worried.

Toothless' tailfin had been damaged for so long, and in the years since their fight with Red Death traversing mainland Europe it never occurred to them that it could ever grow back. They flew together, Hiccup and his dragon, and the artificial tailfin and harness were a part of that since day one. There was nothing else they knew; all Toothless' memories of flying before Hiccup were shrouded in a haze of despair and helplessness over being a slave, trapped.

Toothless was a being overcome with anticipation and restlessness. A great beast, scaled and deadly with the agility and wits to overcome any foe and stalk any prey. But the great dragon acted foolishly at times, and Hiccup couldn't help but grin as his most beloved Night Fury bounced around the field in front of him in careless excitement.

Bounding around a clearing in leaps, disturbing countless small creatures and sending up a flurry of cut grass as he bounds through tall grass and weed, he reaches the opposite end of the field, he turns on hind legs and sprints towards the small human caught in his own thoughts, fidgeting under clouded sky and crisp autumnal foliage. Before Hiccup can react, the dragon throws his head between the boy's legs and catapults him onto his back. Toothless cranes his head around, regarding his boy with glassy emerald eyes. The world is still for a moment, interrupted only by the ominous crow of a raven as the scaled beast tilts his head and quietly croons to Hiccup. :What are we waiting for? What's gripping you like this?:

The telepathy is a slight shock to Hiccup, still somewhat disconnected from the situation despite being manhandled by his drake. He fumbles for an answer, mind racing. As light plays over his tangled auburn hair he looks over the glossy dark scales of his mount with a distressed expression.

:I don't know about this, Bud:.

:Hiccup, without the saddle we will fly like we never flew before. Less weight, less resistance. It'll be amazing, trust me!:.

Hiccup is met with a gummy smile and warble speaking of optimism and reassurance before the Fury tires of waiting and tenses low to the ground, readying to push off.

Hiccup gives one last tentative look at the regrown tailfin. It's definitely different to the other, slightly larger with a subtle off-color to the scales. Ever since it started showing signs of healing Toothless has been crazy with anticipation, but questions of why and how have plagued Hiccup's mind endlessly. There's a high risk the tailfin won't provide the stabilization it should, the smallest difference in aerodynamics a possibility for disaster. He frowns, but is cut short worrying when Toothless pushes up and beats his wings, leaving the ground. Pushing upwards, the two are somewhat stable in the air. Taking it slowly, Toothless maintains a steady pace for a time, hovering in place.

It's good to be back in the air. Locked down while the tailfin regrew, dragon and human grew dissatisfied with grounded limitations. With strong wing beats, Toothless pushes forward. With each thrust a slight lean becomes more pronounced. Trying to overcome it, the two make a hasty over correction that leads them banking right and down on a collision course with a tree trunk.

Hiccup gazed over the scales. They looked the same as before, the same hue as the rest of his flying partner, a sleek polish of midnight black, a faint hint of deep blue underlying. :How does it feel:? he asked, moving a palm over the tailfin :Is it heavier? It seems larger than before:.

Toothless gave his tail a flick, then swung it through the crisp fall air slowly, feeling the weight of an imperfect heal burden the appendage.

:It feels off… I shouldn't have been so hasty, throwing us into the air without knowing.

:I'm not hurt, Toothless:.

:You're bleeding! Don't sit there and give me that when there's clearly a huge-:

:I took plenty of falls when we first flew and got up fine, now is no different, you overprotective sack of scales:

A tentative silence seemed to drag for minutes.

Hiccup shifted, recollecting his thoughts.: We just have to work this through, find the solution like I did then:

He thought back to designing the mechanical fin, a lightweight, finely tuned instrument replicating an already working fin.

It had been a simple matter of seeing how the right fin worked and-

His thoughts were interrupted by a large, slitted tongue running along his back

"Toothless!" He shouted out, breaking the peaceful silence of the small clearing. The dragon crooned :I hurt you:.

:I had to be there Tooth, I had to see. We fly together, always. A small scar I can live with:.

:Let me heal you:.

:I'm still not convinced dragon saliva heals:.

:Nonsense. See this?: Sticking his tongue out :Works miracles:.

Hiccup gave the out stuck tongue a peck. The dragon gave a small sigh.

He stood up and started pacing. :Your fin. It's off balance, right?:

:Riight:...

:So we match the weight on the other fin:

:It's too heavy.I can't fly tail heavy. There's a reason dragons don't regrow when severed:.

:So why did you?:

A pause.

:The same thing that imbues yourself, Hiccup. Our bond has grown into you; those scales covering your scars. The same thing effects me, it's your connection that made my fin grow back:.

It was something that he had known in the back of his mind since he first brought Toothless back into the air; the dragon affected him to the core, as he did Toothless.

:Let's get moving. I'll think better on my feet:

Hiccup saw Toothless was still bitter from the failed flight earlier. Their greatest freedom, their power to soar above and away from everything was taken with one regrown fin. He sighed and picked up the mechanical fin. But it was more than that, Toothless felt he had let down his mate. Failing to provide for his love would bring his mood down and make him prone to drastic measures. He focused his gaze on the lowering sun as he walked, trying to quell the growing anxiety and worry over such a realization.

* * *

_They were moving again. I had to catch myself whilst distracted by a bird nest. The mother had returned to her newly hatched chicks for feeding, regurgitating Odin-knows-what into their waiting gullets. Deplorable behavior, expected of such small insignificant creatures. But I had seen the large black-scale one do the same for the smaller. With a backwards tip of the head, narrowing eyes and several small convulsions he deposits half eaten cod, mackerel and salmon for- and this was the strange- No, not strange. Strange is too tame a word. The relationship between the two was something that beggared belief. As is typical for daemons, they are twisted forms of two existing species on our mortal plane._

_One resembles a Dragon, but is tellingly not so for he exhibits as many human characteristics as dragon. He also is missing a tailfin. This would be a small detail for one not familiar with dragons and the common injuries they sustain, but with a fair amount of knowledge on the matter, I can say that not once have I seen a Dragon downed due to a severed tailfin. Damaged wings are commonplace through general wear and collisions, but a straight cut removing a fin would require a cutting force that anything trying to harm a dragon would not aim at the tailfin, as it is not close to any vital life giving areas of the dragon._

_The other has the general form of a human, albeit weaker than most, from the barbaric archipelagos, however his skin is all marked with several scars- covered entirely by the same black scale the larger creature possesses. Two stubs of bone protrude from his back, like incomplete wings._

_Obviously the two were meant to either be dragons or humans, and the taint that suffocates the underworld and chokes that volcano has formed these two wretched souls to haunt our world. For what purpose is unclear, but observing these daemons is the only chance we have to gain an insight into our enemy. It is unclear who destroyed the Red Death and therefore unsealed the entrance to Hel itself, but the consequences of such a careless act are now let loose upon our world. There are not many of us left, but we will cleanse this world, remove the taint and restore all to order._

* * *

Toothless becomes only more distraught as the day bleeds into night, and as the two settle down to sleep he falls into a restless nightmare, and unwillingly pulls Hiccup down with him.

* * *

_I stand before him, some creature. I speak in emotionless tones._

_:I am just a worthless liar. I am just an imbecile. I will only complicate you. Trust in me and fall as well._

_I will find a center in you. I will chew it up and leave._

_I will work to elevate you._

_Just enough to bring you down:._

* * *

Hiccup woke up with a start, tears streaming down his face. He beat at the wing encompassing him. "You stupid dragon! Look at you, a creature of such power and intelligence, ripping yourself apart!"

:Don't shout, Hiccup:.

:You can't think this way. We'll get you flying again. You have never let me down. You do nothing but impress me:.

He gave Hiccup a lick across the face, salty sweet tears leaving a bitter taste.

:Don't cry for me Hiccup. You share my dreams, but you can never fully understand the way Dragons think. Our pride fuels our emotions and desires. I can't but help feel I let you down. It's in my nature:.

Hiccup tried to understand.

:So when weakness turns my ego up… Dig me up, from under what is covering the better part of me:.

:You're still talking like you're in a dream:.

: Don't lose any sleep tonight; a crooning, :I'm sure everything will end up alright:.

And Hiccup felt sleep overcome him, a wing of midnight black calling him to rest.


	2. Bloodletter

_The larger black scale has regrown his tailfin. If there were any doubts remaining over the twisted fabric of this creature let this put them to rest. A full study into this unnatural healing process may give us useful insight into our enemy._

_The two seem to carry nothing with them nothing but a strange mechanical device, very similar to the "dragon"s' tailfin in design. Putting two and two together, it seems the creatures made up for defects in their bodies through use of such warped inventions, another reminder that these servants of Hel have been loose far too long._

_It seems they use the device as a harness to allow them to fly together, as the dragon can not alone, or at least could not before today.  
_

_The smaller one sustained a large gash last week. It has now healed and is completely covered in scale similar to the other lines of scale on his body. I had thought this was merely a defect of his creation but it seems the underworld gives its beings powers completely unknown to us. I must be alert for unknown danger. The element of surprise may not be enough if their power outweighs mine. Under insurmountable odds I must remember my training and retreat._

_I will continue following. Sooner or later an opportunity will show itself. I hold no false hope of capturing the larger creature, although the smaller one is especially quick and nimble. Both show weakness in the strange relationship they share, caring more for each other than their surroundings. I hope to return within a week._

* * *

:Hiccup, you know what we have to do:

:I'm not going to put a sword through you! Besides, how do you know I can even cut through that much scale? Surely there's another way:.

:There isn't. Either you cut it off or you build another bola-launcher and shoot me out of the sky in the exact way you did before:.

Hiccup was walking with an ugly scowl on his face. _They had been over this a hundred times so why couldn't that stupid dragon realize when he's wrong?_

There was a village ahead, a place to grab a drink from the local well and observe small cultural differences as they traveled. Hiccup placed them to still be in Russland, although he had not seen a map in weeks, and few chart this far from Rome. A great expanse of land sparsely populated land was perfect for flying, with a climate similar to Berk and people not all that different. Although dragons were a rare sight this far out, more and more were making their home in distant lands now they were free of enslavement.

The village looked to be shut up for the night as was expected, but rounding the corner of a building Hiccup bumped into a hooded man. The figure cast a grimace at the young man. Hiccup jumped back, losing his balance and knocking into Toothless' nose. The Dragon gave a grunt before seeing the human. He gave a growl and cast Hiccup behind his wing.

:Forgive me friends, I did not mean to alarm you:.

Toothless heard the voice, that of a Night Fury. But the only creature around was the cloaked human in front of him. :We were about to return home. Perhaps you two would care to join us. There is nothing of interest in this human town:.

Hiccup had turned to the woods and was scanning for any Fury he could see. The situation had turned **very** strange _**very**_ quickly. The man could be a villager catching some fresh air, but why was he not shouting Russian curses at Hiccup right now? Turning back to the man, he saw he was only regarding himself and Toothless with curious eyes. Most villagers would raise an alarm and bring the entire village to arms against a dragon, so why was this one so placid? What's more, he could now see two other hooded figures at the far end of the village, rooting through blacksmithing equipment.

The cloaked stranger tilted his head slightly with a curious look.

:Perhaps you have not heard. The master has called for volunteers for a new task. You know he rewards those who serve him well:.

Toothless decided to play along in the hopes of getting the Fury to show itself. :Of course, the master! If that is the case, we will gladly tag along:.

:Very good; came the voice :It's a long trip, but we have suitable transport. Follow me:. The man had jerked his head in the direction of the other two hooded figures and was making his way to them.

Hiccup shared a confused expression with his dragon as they watched the man walk to the others. They _should _be getting out of here. If those humans were to raise an alarm both dragon and human would surely be dead meat within minutes. Toothless was a good runner, and Hiccup could get enough grip to stay on his back fine for awhile, but no dragon is built for long distance running, and greater numbers were liable to overpower fire and claws. It _was_ these humans talking to them, he realized, not some trick of the mind. But how could they have that ability?

The man still had his back turned. Hiccup grabbed his mate by the wing and rushed him around the corner he came from. "I don't like this one bit. Let's just get out of here" he whispered. The Night Fury gave a small nod. Hiccup climbed onto his back and they made their way back into the brush with light footsteps.

"Aaaah!" A pained yell. :I stood on something:. Toothless raised his paw to find blood dripping off his claws. There was something attempting to run away from them. A human, dressed in the strangest garb the pair had ever seen. "Filthy daemons!" She was limping, blood running quickly from her leg. Hiccup could see the life draining from her. :We can save her, Tooth! I saw a healer in the town over. Quickly, before those hooded men return:.

The Night Fury felt the human had nothing but evil intentions towards them, but it posed no threat in this condition. With a few paces he had closed the distance and stopped to let his mate down. "Hey, stop. You're not going to get far in that state. Let us help you", Hiccup tried to reason with the stranger.

"Shut up daemon! You can't work your tricks on me!" Was the only response he got for his trouble.

Everything had gone to hel in a matter of minutes. Toothless nervously checked behind while Hiccup struggled with the clearly insane woman. Toothless would have to carry two humans an indeterminate distance whilst pursued by vague yet menacing hooded figures. Great.

:Come on, the whole town could be awake by now!: He complained.

:Then blast them with fire! She's hurt, Toothless. If she loses any more blood she could die. I can lift her onto your back, just lay down low and still:.

He awkwardly maneuvered the young woman onto the dragons back, then gave the all clear. The forest was mostly pine with a soft bed of brown needles underfoot. Not the worst terrain to navigate, but it was possible to lose direction nonetheless.

* * *

After what felt like hours they came close to another town, this one slightly larger than the last. Exhausted, Toothless collapsed into a heap on the edge of the forest. Then, unrelenting, he pushed back onto his paws and attempted to continue to the village.

With a weary sigh, Hiccup looked back at his dragon, pacing unevenly over the bed of pine needles with sagging eyes and overwhelming fatigue. The young viking stops, allowing Toothless to stumble up to him. Raising a hand to the underside of his drake's neck, he gives a light stroke on the most sensitive part. Toothless is much too tired to protest or resist and swiftly collapses in a heap on the floor.

Hiccup dragged the woman off, seeing she had regained some consciousness. She was smart enough to stop struggling, and supporting her with a shoulder, they made their way into town. The pair gathered a lot of attention very quickly, a boy with blackened scars across his face and a brawny woman, both wearing clothing not seen around these parts.

Hiccup spotted the healer quickly, a wizened old woman with a face lined with wrinkles. Relief overcome him as she hobbled her way over to them, a frail arm working her cane across the ground.

There were so many questions coming from the residents of the town, none understood by Hiccup. Harsh Russian language battered his ears as he tried to concentrate on keeping the woman upright. The healer said nothing, but directed them into what must be her house. The sun was rising and Hiccup felt his nocturnal instincts urge him to sleep, but he stayed in the house as the healer tended to the woman's leg. He felt responsible for her well being, even if the circumstances of their meeting were quite dubious.

* * *

Hours passed and the healer went about her daily business in the town, obviously either trusting Hiccup not to steal or the other villagers to catch him stealing. Nothing in the house interested Hiccup though, instead what grabbed his attention was a book poking out of one of the injured woman's coat pockets. He debated internally for a moment, but decided she kind of _owed_ him for pretty much saving her life. It was a standard, plain leather book with a strange symbol on the front. The book was half full of scrawled, tortuous writing. A simple stick-and-charcoal pencil lay between two pages.

He had flicked past the first page though, the page most likely to give key information on what the book is for.

And as his eyes went over the page, he let out a gasp. _There's no way this could be right!_ His eyes flicked back to the girl- _It can't be you!?_


	3. Purpose

Toothless couldn't sleep. He twisted and turned, then stood up and brought a flame to his mouth. Remembering how close the human village was, he growled and paced over beaten, cold ground. Battling indecision over whether to remain here, closer to Hiccup, or further into the forest, where he could create a bed of ash in peace, the large reptile let out a growl of frustration.

Everything was supposed to be _good_ now. He had Hiccup to himself, finally, with no one else to hold them back. But in the end it was his own body that betrayed him. Let **Hiccup** down. All of these other issues would be nothing if he could fly. Homesick for the sky, he twisted in the dark void of his mindspace, pacing around dark thoughts that stuck like sickness.

Crows cawed overhead under both the shadow of a clouded day and the shifting shadows of a million leaves. Caught, alone, with only melancholy and worry to keep him company, the dragon curses Hiccup for his compassion and care.

_Oh, gods, the tailfin. It feels so strange. It __**is**__ too heavy. I can feel it now. I let blind enthusiasm drive me forward like some hatchling and let my little one pay the price. He's going around with that huge gash right now like it's nothing. He should be resting, not me._

Toothless snaps out of his thoughts. He swings around at the sound of a twig snapping. A figure runs swiftly through the spaces between trunks, easily distinguishable in the morning sunlight filtering through pine canopy. A hooded figure. Insolent little human playing some kind of crusade or mission. Some human motive for glory or a twisted set of morals. Whatever their intention, Toothless meant to show them who they were messing with.

:Stupid dragon:.

That voice again. The strange man from that last village.

:You have no idea what you're up against. You don't even know who we are. Who we serve. But the master knows who you are. You're the one who let us free, all of us. And he wants to thank you for killing that stupid guardian:.

:I don't know what you're trying to sputter and I don't care. Give me one reason not to burn you to a crisp:.

The man steps into the open, shadows flickering over his hooded face.

:Aren't you at least curious how I speak like one of your kind? Look, I have an exciting proposition for you-:

:You should have told me Brother- No, you shouldn't! I wouldn't have believed it, a Night Fury this far down from the tundra, my god!:

The newest voice had come from behind him, and Toothless found, incredulous, that he had been found off guard. He spun around to face the second hooded man and spread his wings full length, letting out a piercing screech. Before he could follow through with a burst of flame something hit him, all over his body, all at once. His wings pinned down, head brought down and mouth snapped shut in one searing split second. Restrained, He lifted his head once more and began to bring flame to bear against his aggressors. At this moment the world blurred, objects becoming colors, fading into grey and a loud piercing din thundering through his head.

* * *

Hiccup slammed the book shut in shock. How was she still alive? How could anyone have survived?

* * *

_ -Years Ago-_

_:That's it, Toothless, that's Berk! There's no dragons attacking. We did it. We killed her and my village can finally live in peace alongside our kind:._

_The island was just a speck in the distance, but growing closer with every wingbeat. Hiccup could feel his mate holding back, wanting to glide and take his time, but he drove him on. Finally, a resolution to all this chaos._

_:Don't expect them to let go of their traditions so quickly Hiccup. They have always killed dragons and they will always perceive us as a threat. They might even turn some dragons against them in their violence:._

_:Well aren't you the optimistic one today! Land us a bit out then, Love. I wouldn't want to draw anyone to see such a pessimistic creature on a lovely day like this:._

_:What are you going to say to your father? What if he sees I've claimed you?:_

_Hiccup sidelined the difficult question and instead focused on their destination._

_The island was recognizable now, soaring grey cliffs rising above troubled waters. The sea around Berk never seemed completely calm, even on a crystal clear sun stricken day the light speckled waters would churn and writhe endlessly. Columns of fir, spruce and pine clung to the cliffs, some on a precarious lean, overlooking soaring drops that would kill most creatures to fall such a height. A few towers of stone capped with foliage rose not too far from the island, like much smaller versions of the main island they stood unbroken against the waves. Man-made structures were evident as the pair banked towards the side of the island on which the village stood. At first the docks came into view, a few boardwalks were missing and singed, the climb from sea to clifftop would be difficult if not impossible with this amount of damage. It was typical at times to see the village blackened and broken, but the amount of structure missing from the village right now the pair had never before witnessed. _

_Their original plan was quickly forgotten as they came in for a heavy landing, paws thundering into hard ground in the center of the village. The place was deadly silent. Usually a raucous thundering of bellowing voices, clattering steel and good humored insults was devoid of any sound but the distant chirping of birds. A horrible sinking feeling overcame Hiccup, his mind knowing but heart disbelieving. He seemed to dismount his mate in slow motion, each motion heavy and overbearing. He had started walking before he saw what he had been refusing to see until now. The place was a graveyard. Under the rubble that now encompassed half the town lay a hundred bodies of fallen Vikings. Most were barely skeletons anymore, their bodies eaten by creatures and the elements. How long ago did his village fall? The place he was raised so long ago reduced to ashes and bones. Trying to quell the rising bile in his throat and dizzying vertigo overcoming him, he lurched towards the hill on which his childhood home stood. Toothless brought his head under the boys arm in support. They climbed the hill slowly, as charred planks and countless dead bodies still clutching weapons threatened to trip them. The chiefs house was gone completely, the only remains being scattered planks across the ground and a pile of stones that was once the hearth. There were no bodies here, of course. Stoick The Vast would not have died defending his home, Hiccup knew. He cast his eyes to the mead hall where the majority of carnage lay. His father lay at the door to the hall, a pained expression on what was left of his face. He turned to Toothless with pain in his eyes. :I could never be what he wanted, but at least I can give him an honorable death:._

_He pushed the raft out, a loose collection of logs tied with what rope could be found in the wreckage. It bobbed and weaved on the waves, but was ultimately stable and continued slowly out from the island carrying the former chief of Berk through the sea. Hiccup tried to think of a final sendoff. _

"_I was never going to be all you wanted, and our village was never going to be enough for me. I wish I could have said goodbye, Dad. I wish we could have understood each other, at least." He laid his hand on the top of Toothless' head and the dragon let an azure ball of flame to fly over the waves, hitting the raft and quickly spreading flame over the entire vessel. _

"_Feast in Valhalla, Stoick The Vast."_


	4. Undone

He looked at the woman sleeping in the bed at his side. Shoulder length black hair, weathered face and a peaceful expression on her face as she snoozed. This wasn't the Astrid he knew. It was just a coincidence. One hel of a coincidence, but it happens. It's a massive world, and even if she had got out of Berk in time there was no way she could have made it this far on her own. Hiccup stood and took stock of the situation. How long had he been sitting here? Half a day? A look out the only window of the cottage told him noon. When was the last time he ate? There was a plate of food the healer had brought in earlier sitting on the bedside table that seemed more and more inviting, but whether it was intended for himself or 'Astrid' he was unsure.

Finally, he cast his mind to Toothless, who must be waiting for him close by. The dragon was more than likely still stewing over things he couldn't help. He yawned, rubbed his eyes and felt the emptiness in his stomach. He always got caught up in the detail. He could leave right now with his mate, grab a bite to eat and catch some sleep. Yes, whatever Astrid was doing here and motives she had against 'Daemons' was none of his concern. She could rest up here and then return to whatever little band of witch hunters she belonged to.

Stepping out the door, Hiccup shielded his eyes from a hard sun. He hadn't been exposed to sunlight in waking hours much in the last years, although they stayed up more and more often as Toothless' fin regrew. The pain of the accelerated healing process made it hard to sleep, and it was hard to rest whilst grounded.

He was just getting over the harsh sunlight when the unmistakable painfully load cry of his mate from the forest pierced the relative peace of the village. Hiccup immediately took off at full sprint, lithe muscles fueled by a sudden surge of desperation and fear.

Toothless would never draw such attention to himself anywhere near other creatures. The whole village had readied themselves for combat, Hiccup noticed with a backwards glance. The screech of a Night Fury had most likely never been heard around these parts before, but any creature would be stupid not to recognize the power contained in such a noise.

He caught something else out of the corner of his eye. Astrid. Of course she had been woken by the deafening noise.

Almost at the edge of the forest, Hiccup could make out two figures surrounding his dragon. The difference in light under the tree canopy made it hard to pick out detail as he ran, but he made out a net falling from above, then another figure falling soon after it, using it's velocity to drive an elbow into the top of his mate's head. As soon as Hiccup cried out he was blinded by light. Pure grey stung his eyes and he wrenched his head to the side, stopping dead in his tracks. The grey light disappeared as quickly as it came, and Hiccup wrenched his vision back to the forest floor to see nothing but disturbed pine needles and scuffed dirt where the assault had taken place.

The girl came to a stop beside him and regarded Hiccup with wary eyes. The two stood face to face for a tense moment, bathed in outcry from the village populous. The event would probably be remembered for generations as an act of witchcraft by the village.

"I thought they had got you. You have to forgive me-" She was cut short by a forceful tug on her coat, Hiccup dragging her a few feet before she found her footing and joined him in a run. "You don't understand, they turn humans into their own kind! I thought they had turned you into a daemon Hiccup!"

They both came to a dead stop under the shade of the canopy. Hiccup opened his mouth, shocked. Distracted by heavy footsteps behind him he ducked and pivoted in a leftward sweep to narrowly avoid an axe blade. Carrying the momentum, he brought his body around to land a fist square on the assaulting Russians' face. As soon as the heavyset man dropped to the ground Hiccup was once more regarding the familiar stranger watching him with a piercing stare.

"They think you're a spell caster. I'm getting out of here before the whole lot come down on us."

Hiccup grabbed her shoulder before she could run and spun her back around to face him.

"No. I want answers. And then we're leaving before any more of them try to play hero."

Seeing the crowd still gawking gave Astrid the chance she needed to release the emotions built up over the last weeks. She shoved Hiccup away with a grunt and let the anger spill. "Don't try and act like the dominant one here. I've seen the way that dragon controls you. You're nothing but a slave. A slave, a traitor, and a disappointment. Why did you run away Hiccup? To get put under the control of a mere beast? I must give it credit though; I never knew black scales could take a mind to this extent. What does it want you for?"

Hiccup did nothing to restrain the snarl escaping his lips. The growing hunger and sleep deprivation left him no patience for the characteristic ignorance he tried to leave behind on Berk so long ago. He barely resisted kicking her in the wounded leg, but settled for a scathing comment.

"You're just how I left you. A blind little girl, stabbing at everything she doesn't understand."

"I could have killed you. I still can" Astrid retorted, moving her hand over the pocket where her dagger lay hidden. She had lost yet another axe in the scuffle last night, but she knew the blade on the dagger to be deadlier after she had sharpened it so many times while watching the two of _them_.

"And I could have left you to die."

"I've suffered worse than a cut in the leg. Your company is much more unbearable."

The snide remark fueled the young man's temper to a new height, but he somehow retained control enough to muster some logic.

"But you're still here, because you've come to the same conclusion as me. I want the Dragon, and you want the daemons. We stand a much better chance working together."

Astrid run the idea over in her mind. She had been thinking about taking the daemons on herself, but she knew them to be powerful in ways few completely understood, and she had only ever beaten them in a one on one fight.

Hiccup was a_ lot _more capable than she had last seen him, he seemed to have put on some muscle and was inhumanly limber. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he would be an asset to the order. He was almost as capable in battle as herself.

She was also still limping slightly. The wound didn't hurt much, but running and fighting wouldn't do it any favors. She would need someone to do those for her, but she wasn't about to say so out loud.

"More like you wouldn't have any idea where to start looking. The daemons have used a power we have observed a few times before to move far in an instant. Seems they don't do it often for the amount of attention it attracts. That unnatural grey light is an unwanted side effect, we think."

For all her enthusiasm, he found the idea of an evil force of daemons too farfetched and found himself comparing the aggressive passion from Astrid to that she had held as a teen on Berk, so eager to slay dragons and make her peers proud. It was _grating._

"Who is this 'we'?"

"Before I tell you about them I need to know what that line of scales is running across your face, and the weird stubs on your back. And that thing you keep lugging around, the harness and fake tail fin. You must be under the control of that dragon, or you would never make yourself out to be like this."

"Then we'll leave it till later, Astrid! Let's just track down the daemons." Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't had to deal with people for a long time, and the grating exchange had left his throat dry. He only spoke through telepathy to Toothless nowadays, speaking aloud was almost a lost skill.

Hiccup took a glance back at the village. The artificial fin, of course! He had left in in the healers cottage. He took off at a jog back to the village, noting the villagers regarding him with wary eyes, and ignoring Astrid's calls of frustration. "I'll be back in a second", he called over his shoulder. They were scared of him, he realized. He had put down one of the biggest members of the village with one blow. And now he and Astrid had been arguing as though nothing had happened. Two young adults were no match for a village of vengeful Russians, but fear of the unknown had paralyzed the crowd. There was no way he could get through the crowd unscathed, but he needed the harness. With a grunt, he pushed from the ground and leapt to the nearest branch. With deft feet Hiccup flitted from tree to tree, always finding purchase and maintaining momentum to carry his body through the maze of vegetation.

Astrid scuffed her boots in the ground, watching the village population trying to track Hiccup as he somehow made his way through treetops at a running pace. The man was even stranger than he was as a child. He was still an outsider, but now he was a capable one. Astrid found herself thinking of a issue as her mind somewhat cleared, that she had lied in her journal. She had acted as though she didn't know Hiccup at all. And perhaps that was true in a sense, but anything but the complete truth would mean an instant banishment from the Order.

Perhaps she could pass the two off as Daemons that escaped her grasp, but Hiccup is such a distinctive man they would instantly match him to the description in her book. Astrid cursed herself for being so careless, she never was much of a writer. She loved fighting, doing, moving. Creating script was never her strong point, and she often found herself rambling in her journal, broadcasting her thoughts to a book when there was no one else to speak her mind to. The Maestars didn't mind, flipping through her journal whenever she returned to the Gates with bored stares. So long as the journal was truthful and "_comprehensive on the task at hand_" it didn't matter.

There were rewards given out to those who brought new recruits, Astrid knew, especially recruits with promise. There was no denying Hiccup's talent. But there was something else about him, he was always unruly but now he seemed to act so alike to the dragon that had taken him. Perhaps his mind was broken for good, and he would never make it in any civilized establishment anymore. Not that he ever would have, really. Hiccup as Chief of Berk would have never happened; he would have surely been bottom of the pile in their village, had it survived.

Anyway, would she risk working alongside Hiccup? The boy now had a severe temperament and anger-fueled courage, if not an outright hatred for her.

Thinking of Berk steadied her thoughts to the objective of catching the Daemons, and she found herself looking around for any sign of Hiccup. She now accepted the need for his help, the chance to think giving the situation some clarity.

Hiccup emerged from the trees, with an old woman in tow, draped in old rags with a wizened face and stringy white hair. The healer.

She had Astrid's axe.


	5. Resplendant

"Who are you?"

The healer stood in his path. Hiccup needed to get inside, so he had to cooperate, but every moment he delayed going after Toothless felt like an eternity.

Impatience burnt an unquenchable fire in his heart. He wasn't meant to go the other way from his dragon. It felt fundamentally_ wrong._

The woman was watching him patiently. Her face held simple curiosity, and perhaps a trace of doubt. She didn't look particularly Nordic, but she had spoken it fluently. The underlying accent seemed incredibly familiar. It spoke of stubbornness, resistance, an unyielding mentality.

Hiccup balked at answering the simple yet demanding question.

"I am Hiccup of Berk. I – I owe you my thanks for saving my… Friend. She played it down, but she lost a lot of blood back there. She could have bled out without proper treatment."

The old woman nodded, "She took a real puncture to her leg. If a main artery had been severed it could have been a lot worse."

Hiccup felt guilty to hear it, but Astrid _was_ following them with malicious intent, and he was still seething over her comments earlier, treating his bond with Toothless like a joke. He was starting to get comfortable with this strange encounter, but felt the need to run after his dragon growing with each passing second.

"I'm sorry I can't properly thank you, but I have to be going. I'm a traveler and I can't stick around."

The woman tilted her head slightly.

"And how did you come to travel so far? Berk is such a long way, even a young man such as you would have trouble making this far I'm sure. Especially with that leather contraption you're lugging around."

The old woman knew a lot and her questions dug a bit too far. In the shadow of the overhanging tiled roof she waited calm and patient for an answer Hiccup felt would be neither satisfying or believable.

Hiccup swallowed, once again feeling his parched throat. _Well, all or nothing I guess. _He steeled himself for whatever horrible reaction would fall on him, but there was something about the old lady, in her expression or posture, that let him know he could trust her_.  
_

"I ride a Night Fury."

The elder somehow looked more interested, not angry for having her time wasted. Worse, she seemed to recognize the species of dragon.

"I was never wanted in my home village, so I took my leave of the place with Toothless; I built him the leather harness and tailfin I carry." He was looking at the ground, and muttering a bit, but it was a sweet release to tell someone else his story. "He gave me all I needed, but never got from my people. We flew north and with other Night Furies we destroyed the beast that was threatening dragon and human kind, the Red Death. Then we flew as far as we could and found ourselves here." The story sounded so far-fetched, so insane.

Greisha's face had changed at the mention of Red Death. "This beast, did it inhabit a large volcano by any chance?"

"Well, yes?"

"Hiccup, I see a lot of potential in you. You have overcome a lot, yes? Tell me precisely how you came to be with your dragon."

Hiccup wonders at the motives of the woman. Was she playing along with him? Humoring him?

"I shot him out of the sky, destroying one of his tailfins in the process. I found him in the woods and raised my dagger to kill him, hoping to please my father and my village. Then I looked into his eyes and found I couldn't do it."

He pauses. Thinking, remembering.

"I cut him free."

Greisha smiled, warmth lighting her wrinkled face.

"Nearly all these days have hate for dragons. But I come from a time when it was not so."

Hiccup gave a nod, now eager for her to continue.

"Hiccup, I created Red Death. I founded the Order a century ago to put a stop to the evil in the world, as the earth was plagued by Daemons from below. Our goal was simple, to restore order and drive all daemons from our world. "

"Many had tried to combat the daemons, but every time a band of warriors marched into their volcano the Daemons would overwhelm them with superior numbers, and every time the entrance was sealed with boulders the beasts would find another way out, or smash the boulders apart. I and a band of loyalists hatched a plan to stop the tyranny of the underworld. We had learnt a lot of the daemons, all of their tricks. We knew that nothing but sheer overwhelming force would stop them. We finally decided on a course of action to seal them below forever. "

Hiccup can't help but gasp at the implication.

"You made a dragon to stop them. You put a dragon between us and them."

"Yes, you are very clever Hiccup. We raised a dragon bred to inhabit a nest between two worlds, feeding it until it's body was large enough, and it's flame fearsome enough, to stop even daemons from challenging her."

"What we didn't expect was her mind to grow too. As we fed her, she gained an insatiable lust for power, dominance and greed. She would band other dragons around her to be her slaves, bringing her food and fulfilling her every desire. At first it was a trifling matter, but we soon found her to be uncooperative and violent. Her acts of cruelty increased steadily until she was ordering hordes of her followers to attack the villages close to her nest in order to sate her taste for violence and unstoppable hunger. It was rare before then for a dragon to kill a human, the two species regarding each other as intelligent beings."

"All of a sudden there was an all-out war between the two. It was then I spoke out, telling my sons to gather an army to take on the beast before it grew any larger. They defied me, naming themselves the new Maestars of the Order. With nowhere to go I traveled for years until I settled here and became healer for this village."

"How could your own sons cast you out like that?"

"The same way a dragon could eat its own kind and kill hundreds of humans. Greed. I heard later two of my sons were dead, slain at the hands of my eldest. He took full control of the order and installed a rank of Maestars below him."

As much as Hiccup didn't want to believe it, he knew the world to be a cold and impersonal place. There were rumors of dragons with gold piles large enough to rival their egos, and mad kings slaughtering their own for sadistic pleasure.

"I don't know for what purpose the Order stands for anymore, but the code still remains the same, if you're friend's book is to be believed."

Hiccup found himself furious at the idea that the monster he had worked so hard to destroy had harbored an even greater evil, yet his nature forebode him from resorting to outright violence.

"Maybe we can still turn him around. Everyone has the potential to do well, even if their minds are overtaken by desire. The Order could be reshaped into its old self."

The elderly woman sighed, "No, the Order's stone towers are so secure no one but those that reside there can ever hope to gain access."

Hiccup gave a half-cocked grin and said with a sudden burst of hopeful courage, "Do they have windows?"

"Ah! Yes, flight!" Greisha looked for the first time wary under her veil of courage. "Would you help me, dragon rider?"

"I would be honored, Greisha."

"But you need your wings, Hiccup! Come, we have much to do. Tell me what happened to your dragon on the way."

She was already hobbling off with an axe in hand, not the fastest human Hiccup had ever seen but not slow for someone her age. He grabbed the harness and tailfin from inside the door and followed after her, hope brewing inside. Perhaps an adventure would be the thing to get Toothless out of his mood, if he could get the dragon flying.


	6. Perspective

_A dark cave. He lay, wrapping his most precious possession in black wings._

_He seemed to cry out to the approaching morning, doubts and endless worries forming a torrent of sorrow._

_~Oh, have to take your hand, and feel your breath for fear this someday will be over_

_I pull you close, so much to lose knowing that nothing lasts forever_

_But all things change_

_Let this remain_

_Let this remain_

_Want you to know that should I go_

_I always loved you, held you high above, true_

_I study your face, the fear goes away._

_Fear goes away~._

* * *

The dream faded away, replaced by blurry consciousness. Grey mist shrouds his vision. The peace he had felt whilst unconsciousness dissipates quickly. The dragon perked his ears at the sound of rolling wheels and horse hoof on dirt. He caught the middle of a conversation as his mind and eyes cleared.

:Why can't you just keep your damn mouth shut when we come across people? Why did you assume him to be one of us? Night Furies _have_ been seen this far south before:.

It was the creatures in hooded robes talking above him, Toothless realized as he cleared his head and put the situation in place.

There was nothing but blackness around him, but they were moving. He was a prisoner. He was in some kind of cart, two vertical slits of light marking the back door. The smell of treated oak and rusted metal overcame all else. The hooded men were above him. There was a weight all over him, but with his first thought being to flame everything around him, the dragon found he couldn't open his mouth, encountering crushing heavy steel whatever part of his body he moved.

_A steel net. It feels exactly the same as what crushed me before. How did they drop something like this on me? It must weigh more than me. Why would they go to these lengths to capture one dragon? _

_What had the strange creature said?_ "_The master knows who you are, and he has an_ _exciting proposition for you." _

:Because I actually look:.

A second voice, different, but still in his language, Toothless realized. _Somehow these humans have the same ability my Hiccup has_. _How can they speak as we do?_

:He has a human with him. But the human has scars across his face, and two stubs growing from his back. The Night Fury has a fin missing. They are marked the same as us:.

The dragon recoiled at the mention of his mate. _Do they have Hiccup? Where is he? _He threw his nose around, searching for any trace of Hiccup's scent and picking up nothing. He groaned inwardly, unsure of the boy's well being.

:That's weird, sure. But you jump to conclusions much too easily. You frightened our prey off. Be more careful next time, only take others in cloaks to be known servants of the master:.

A third voice, deeper than the other two, suddenly broke the relative peace.

:Would you two bloody shut it already? I can't get a moment's peace with you morons constantly nitpicking each little detail of the mission! We've got what the master wants, and I intend to make good time. Remember, the master rewards those that serve him well. We volunteered for this, so try and act like proper servants for once. I won't have you two clowns ruining this for me:.

The third voice didn't belong to either of the men that had ambushed him in the forest. It must be the one that dropped the net on him, obviously the leader of the group. In the following silence Toothless tried not to give into the hopelessness overcoming him. First grounded, now completely immobilized, it was increasingly hard to keep a sane disposition.

_No, I have to stay strong. I have to remain alert and look for an opening. The first chance I get I'll roast them all. Then I'll find Hiccup and we'll get as far away as we can._

_And then what?_

_They were obviously going to some hefty lengths to capture him, so why would this 'master' give up after a few of his men died? _

Toothless shifted his weight as much as he could to get comfortable. _Gods, Hiccup. Don't do anything stupid without me._

* * *

_I smile inwardly and feel the rush of excitement flow through my body. _

_I summon the grey light from within my being, and search for the destination I need. _

_My mind rolls over the mental landscape, most of it is blurry, but the area around home is crystal clear. It's within reach, I could go even further if I wanted, but not by much. _

_I tense, and pull the land around home to myself. Everything rushes past. _

_I no longer black out during world bending, and instead feel the full force of the world bending to my whim. The master has given me this gift, a great asset to our cause, yes, but also a cacophony of sensation. A thousand thousand leagues surpassed in the blink of an eye. To not take some sort of pleasure from this would be difficult, if not impossible. _

_I'm here, outside the mountain. I am to volunteer on behalf of our group, whatever the task may be. _

* * *

Hiccup did his best to put on a neutral expression. "Astrid, this is Greisha, the woman that healed you."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Astrid stammered, looking slightly flustered. "I owe you one. How did you find my axe?"

"That can wait, girl. First tell me if you are willing to help us. Time is of the essence if we are to have any chance of finding Toothless!"

The village slowly returned to a vigilant normality behind them as the three worked though a tense negotiation.

" "Toothless" "?

Hiccup scratched his neck. "Toothless is the dragon I'm traveling with." He stated, still trying to hold back anger at Astrid for spying on them for weeks.

Astrid was scowling, any trace of civility gone.

"Dragons are beasts. They are violent and cruel. They killed my fellow villagers that I fought alongside for year after year. They burnt our homes, killed our livestock and murdered innocent people!"

"Yes Astrid, they did." Hiccup hoped for the girl to understand. "But their actions were not their own. For generations the dragons in our part of the world were under the control of the dragon queen-"

"STOP. Just. Stop. I've had enough. I never want to see you again, Hiccup. I don't want your help, and I never want to hear another traitorous word my entire life." Astrid huffed, stomping off with a slight limp.

"Traitorous? You left too, Astrid." Hiccup followed Astrid through the woods at a slow pace, determined now to get through to her. "Did you never go back?"

"I know full well what happened to Berk." Astrid maintained her staunch movements, but the man could tell he had hit the mark. Her voice had cracked ever so slightly, enough to give away the doubt Astrid felt. That she probably had been feeling the whole time she was following Hiccup and Toothless. Astrid had been raised in a culture of ignorance in Berk, and she had now traded it for another sheltered world view in the Order. From what Greisha had told Hiccup it was safe to infer the Maestars weren't the most open minded people to ever grace the earth.

_It's not her fault, _Hiccup mused, _she's just spent her whole life with her eyes closed. I can't be soft with her, she needs to know this._

"Astrid. I couldn't stop Red Death in time. When the dragon queen found out the Furies were plotting against her, she made her minions kill every intelligent creature for miles to send a message. We against her and with enough force we were able to defeat Red Death."

Astrid stops. With her head bowed and temple pounding, she reconsiders.

"Enough talk. I'll join you, if only out of necessity. In return, I want my leg cared to."

"Yes child. Now, let us make haste. I take it you know more of the powers of these Daemons, so I take it you can track them to some extent?"

"The grey light their warp spell leaves behind is distorted to the direction they went. Follow me."


	7. Cooperation

Hiccup tread in the path of his two newly found companions, a crushing anathema setting in over the noise of dying leaves crushed underfoot. With no solid trace of Toothless and his faith set in the skills of a mercenary, the young man's spirits were rapidly deteriorating. The weight of the tailfin prosthetic dragging across the forest floor grew increasingly tiring, and the others increasingly tired.

Doubts over how difficult this mission could be played on his mind through seemingly endless hours of forest canopy. His thoughts poured over Toothless, a capable, powerful, but sometimes senseless dragon all too eager to sacrifice his own well-being for what he loves. Then he looked ahead at Greisha, a stranger who seemed to have lived a hundred lifetimes possessing a lot of faith to readily put in others. Finally, Hiccup set his eyes on the woman from his old village, a familiar stranger with an all too familiar scowl across her face. The argument he had with Astrid had solved nothing and only caused a larger divide between them. Now they avoided eye contact at all costs whilst their older traveling partner questioned Hiccup on his dragon.

Astrid runs a hand through her hair and peers back at the laggard trailing the group. "So what did you do? Just lose it completely? Sell your soul to the devil?"

"Yes", replied Hiccup, tired. "I sold my soul to _that_ devil. I sold it to some horrible creature that actually sees me for _who I am,"_ he emphasized.

The words found no purchase, Astrid retorting "Well It's good someone sees who you are, 'cause you're beating any definition I can think of."

"It's a shame you can't understand."

"I still think you've completely lost it. That must be some _dark-ass magic _that can make a human start to take on the features of a dragon. Dragons are dangerous, mindless creatures that destroyed our village, and here you are treating them like friends."

"Those mindless creatures are very affectionate. Just last week Tooth saw I was cold one night, He gathered a load of wood, set it aflame around us and curled around me so his warm belly kept the night chill at bay."

"Disgusting."

The elder had been silent for much of the journey thus far, only adding to her aura of mystique. As they came to a carriage path and were directed towards more forested terrain by Astrid, Greisha turned to Hiccup. "Your dragon, he can control himself, yes? I have seen many in my time that let anger overwhelm them when torn from their mates."

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah, no, that sounds just like him. I can't leave that dragon alone for two seconds without him starting to worry about me. He won't like the idea of being saved. He's a dragon. Dragons are prideful creatures," he states, remembering how Toothless had beat himself up about the regrown tailfin and loss of flight in his dreams.

It niggled at Hiccup how well he and Toothless could together overcome anything, although this is no consolation to a Night Fury, an independent creature counting on its own instincts to be able to tackle problems head on itself.

* * *

_I've strode in confident enough, the welcoming heat of the home base a welcome respite from the savage winter outside. There's enough of us gathered around the Lord's Chair anyone could tell something very important is going down. My mind is filled with possibilities of the quests the master could provide for my team; ten bear pelts for the master's chamber? Recruit 5 new daemons to the cause? Bland, perhaps. Yet the tasks are all I know, and the master's approval and a deserved rank in the higher echelons after a satisfying day's work are just ahead. He's taken his seat now in front of the mass of followers, his most trusted on either flank. Constant calls of "Give me a quest!" and "For master! For honor!" fill the air. It's clear many of the homestays have spent the day in their tankards before stumbling over here. I can see them now, distinctive in their leisure clothing, some still clutching mugs full of the homebrew they create down here. The homestays have no honor, the vast majority screw-ups unfit for service for their incompetence. The thought reminds me of my two lackeys, the clowns waiting for me back east. They could await the same fate if upper management actually took my crew reports seriously. A life of meaningless debauchery in some filthy lower pit of home base would suit those two just right, for all the times they have let me down._

_I've now become too absorbed in my own mindspace and the meeting has advanced to the point where master has all kinds of charts set up. Maps drape the back wall marked with arrows, circles and other strange markings I couldn't start to guess at. With pointing stick in hand, master is pacing down the line of charts tapping at the red lines. Instructions on where to look for the target and where it has been sighted are carefully dictated as he works his way back and forth along the maps and charts, occasionally stopping to add a new mark here and there. The back wall becomes ever more crowded by endless paperwork over the next hour and a half as new diagrams are endlessly laid overtop each other. I'm managing to pick out snippets of his dictation over the constant din of the room, specifics of tracking methods mostly drowned out by the pack of mongrels a few feet away. _

_When we're set loose to carry out the task, I catch Gorbachev out the corner of my eye. He's easy enough to catch up to, his bulky, awkward frame straining from age. I match his pace as he walks up to the exit. _

_:Gorbachev, old pal. About how you stole paper from the master's wall?: _

_This gets his attention, the old daemon pausing to growl at me, his fur bristling with indignation. _

_:Tell us what the target is and your secret is safe:. _

_He's raised his snout at me, baring sharp teeth in a false display of defiance. I've got him, and he knows too well. Gorbachev would never willingly give up details to a competitor, and he knows how capable I am. The old wolf has been pining for a promotion for as long as anyone can remember, but seems to fall into second place every time. A few weeks past, he tried to sneak some paper from the master's wall, an unforgivable offense. The wall has been layered on with a million different plans over the years, the pride of master's home base. Any tampering would have grave consequences for any involved (a demotion to fungal farming was the last punishment handed out). _

_It's a dragon, he tells. A youthful Black-Scale told to have played a key role in removing the guardian that held us captive. Gorbachev stomps off and I go to collect the equipment. A steel net. Finely crafted. Strong, yet light enough for my capability. There's no time to waste, a quick run outside bringing a cold blast as I prepare to world bend back to my team._

* * *

After walking for what feels like hours, they stop at a small river. It's a good place to camp, as eager as they are to continue the three agree that finding the way down a forest trail in ever thickening darkness would be too difficult.

A rock overhang provides just enough protection from the elements, and the river enough fish to roast for dinner. After the two woman fall asleep, Hiccup wanders out of camp and paces his way up the river, finding a place out of earshot where he will not be disturbed. He runs his fingers over his scars, feeling the black scales growing there. He bends his arm and feels his shoulder blade, noticing now without the rush of adrenaline how over the last hours they have felt increasingly tense.

As he lays his hand there, the pressure builds under his coat and he screams out in pain. The bones grow and pierce through his skin, morphing into wings on the young man's back as he falls onto his hands, then collapses entirely and loses consciousness on the riverbank.

When Hiccup wakes up in the earliest break of day, he does so with a moan and a growl. He feels his back, flexes his new wings and the spiky nubs along his spine. _Just like Tooth's Wings. Just like Tooth's spikes._ It's not a complete surprise, Hiccup had felt the growth coming for some time. He just wished his dragon could have been there to see him take on the wings and spikes. Like every cut Hiccup had taken in the last year, the wings were lined with fresh black glossy scales.

He sighed, and apprehensively started back towards Greisha and Astrid. There were still daemons to find.


	8. Creed

Hiccup walks up to the two as they sit by the fire.

"Uh... Hi?" He nervously mutters.

Astrid simply narrows her eyes at the hybrid as if it was somehow expected Hiccup would run off in the middle of the night and return with dragon wings. Then, she turns and walks off.

"Whoa, come on. ASTRID. This isn't fair. Can't you at least try to see where I'm coming from here?"

Astrid turns quickly without warning and swings a fist at Hiccup. She doesn't expect him to dodge with lightning-quick reactions and snort at the attempt.

The blonde haired girl yells and chases him along the forest, out into tilled fields, and into a standoff as he perches on a farmhouse roof she cannot reach. Eventually, Astrid calms down enough to give up and begrudgingly continue with their search.

Muttering under her breath about the horrible particulars of weather, she casts a furtive glance once more at the familiar stranger perched at the edge of a tree limb, half-formed wings rustling in the breeze. Hiccup casts a gormless figure, lean musculature tensed as though suspecting danger at any given moment. Or perhaps he's just so tense going over the sheer desperation of the current situation. As Astrid looks over the hybrid, she can see his eyes twitching, hands fidgeting with nothing as he scans the area.

She knows the doubting feeling all too well, having spent half of last night in the makeshift shelter trying to pinpoint a way to catch up to the much more resourceful daemons.

Greisha seems to be the binder of the unlikely unison once more when she orders the two sulking youths to action, seemingly much more spirited about their prospects. She places a hand on Astrid's shoulder, startling the young woman. Gently, she speaks to Astrid in muted tones. "Look, the boy is tearing himself in two without his companion. We have to speed this up, lest he loose his will."

Greisha's silver hair billows in the wind, her face scoured with worry. Astrid is impatient, the effort taken to roughly track the deamon kidnapper's trail over the past day an unwelcome distraction and unpleasant chore. However, any way to catch up would be welcome, a spark of hope over a possible solution from the aging healer bringing her attention. The realization she had been tracking _Hiccup and Toothless_, of all people, and not the targets she was looking for, was a irritating end to the mission, and she wished for a warm bed instead of the cold ground and unsatisfying quest she was tasked with.

"I couldn't care less about Hiccup's feelings over his little pet. Once we're done with this errand, I'm gone."

"So be it child... But allow me to offer you a chance to do some good in this life. Join us, reclaim my Order for good, and take it back from my twisted children. With my Order back in my control, there is a chance I can find redemption in destroying the daemons once and for all before I end my life."

Astrid scowls, "I have no need for the company of dragons, or Hiccup. And whose to say you are any more noble than the maestars? Don't think I don't realise who rifles through my journal."

With the hostility between them only deepened, the two fall into a discordant silence as they trudge down the beaten path. Both pairs of eyes are set on the hybrid before them, the young man staunch with unbreakable purpose. He paces down the path at askew trajectories, eyes hard on the horizon. Restless, the hybrid jumps to a well positioned branch, then another. Midnight black wings and fresh, almost glossy scales brush past leaves as he leaps through treetops. Driven, he thinks nothing of the feats of agility made as he searches for Toothless.

Seeing the tension in Hiccup brings silence and wary glances as the two women follow with bated breath.

"So, Greisha," says Astrid, frown deepening at the mud gathering on her boots. "You were born in the Barbaric Archipelago, right? You grew up around dragons.. Got any idea why these daemons would kidnap a dragon?"

"You won't like the answer, I fear." Aged eyes follow a half-dragon through forest canopy. "Hiccup and his dragon defeated the Red Death, the dragon guarding the daemon underworld. Perhaps they were key roles in the battle. Perhaps they were just too distinctive too not be noticed. Either way it seems the daemons know about Toothless and likely see him as a savior for killing the beast above them."

Doubt washes over Astrid once again as her beliefs are tested. There is a possibility, however unlikely, that dragons are in fact misguided creatures-what had Hiccup said? _Under the control of a dragon queen_? He has all the reason to lie, to turn her to his side and gain her help and regain the dragon the adores so much. But what reason does the old crone have? Is she simply naive and easily swayed?

It seems she knew nothing of Hiccup before his arrival to her village. But she speaks with conviction, an unwavering faith in a complete stranger. Could the - boy and dragon be considered heroes? Or even decent? Her time following the two was enough to plant a hatred of their uncivilized behavior, much too alike to daemons. _Much too alike to dragons._

Her thoughts are snapped back to the present with a sickening stab of pain from her leg. Astrid sucks in air through clenched teeth as her hatred for Toothless, the dragon she is working to save, returns.

"Don't put too much weight on it, the wound still needs at least a few days to heal," comes the warning from Greisha.

Astrid nods, confident at least in the healing skills of the old woman.

* * *

There's a wagon in the distance. It's barely a speck on the horizon, the overcast day not ideal weather for spotting such things from great lengths. However my eyesight does seem enhanced. I wonder if this is another draconic trait I've picked up from Toothless or merely my own imagination. Astrid's tracking may have payed off, the cart looks big and sturdy enough to hold a dragon, and loaded with enough gear to make it all the way across the Roman empire. Hopeful thinking, as the road we're on is surely also well used by merchant's wagons, but any hope is a boon at this point, as to lose my dragon would to be to lose myself.

The branches beneath me provide as sure footing as solid ground, the wings at my back seem to give balance and scales make each glancing blow from bark and leaf a trivial matter. I'm closing ground fast, not fast enough. I glide over a passing village, thatched roofs underfoot. The startled voices from behind are nothing when I pick up a scent. It's the same scent as me, sweet musk layered over drake scale. I know Toothless' smell from endless chases, hunting the dragon down with my nose, the method ever more effective as my senses sharpened over time.

The fond memories of times past spent together strengthens my resolve, closing in on the wagon now. Sticking to the treetops, I watch my footing on each step to minimize noise. Another thing Tooth has taught me, how to be fleet and silent.

There's the three from before, hoods on, silent. They seem unaware of my presence, the element of surprise sure to be key to my victory. Three against one brings thoughts of going back for Astrid's help for a second. But only a second, the desire to take revenge, to be with him too great.

I steel myself, ruffle the new wings a few times. Their joints still a bit stiff, the bones still new and fragile, there's a moment of doubt. Tooth always makes it look easy. Makes it look like nothing at all, like breathing. Funny how I took flight from him, then gave it back, then received it from him once more. Too much hesitation. The sky is mine, flying should be a breeze.

I almost slip clambering to the next tree, but find purchase. The bark is rough enough to bring blood as I clamber up, the pain lost under blind driven purpose. This one's tall enough, and there's no time for second guessing. I leap, and for a second I'm falling. I unfurl my wings. The wind catches me and carries me forward straight onto the top of the rolling wagon behind the daemons heads. There's barely enough time to pull out the daggers before I land, adrenaline pumping with staggering force. The landing isn't graceful, I'm quickly sprawled out behind the three daemons but manage to find some purchase as they turn around to face me. A dagger to the face should be easy to achieve here, they're caught off guard and seemingly without weapons of their own. I raise the blade and am about to bring it down. But the daemon hasn't moved. Isn't defending himself. Instead, he speaks with polite, civilized words.


	9. Visceralality

:A persistent one, aren't we?:

He's got a smirk on that aging face, a cold grey pallor to his skin, sunken eyes ringed with black. The daemon looks at me, not my blades, the space between us slick with tension. The other two are much less composed, eyes wide and alert. Holding the reigns, the smallest of the lot is clearly uncomfortable with the need to keep his eyes forward.

:I must admit, a Night Fury in his prime is quite the prize, and if this one is truly loyal to you... It's no surprise you've taken these lengths to retain it:.

_I should have driven the blade into his head_. _A daemon, a being of terror and manipulation. Why would I let him speak?_

:Do you enjoy hurting other people? What made you hesitate with those little blade of yours?: The creature continues sardonically, :You, dragon boy, with the smell, scales and wings of a dragon, but not the temperament:

There's a knocking sound from below, the cart shakes. Something in my mind snaps, the reminder of Tooth's presence enough to elicit action. Planting a hand down, I kick forward and old matted leather comes into contact with the driver's shoulder.

It's a bold move, enough to catch him off guard as the daemon goes over and screams under wooden wheels. Boom. Another slam shakes the cart. The sudden slip into chaos intensifies when the horses rear up and gallop relentlessly, their composure pushed past breaking point. Two remaining daemons growl at me, clambering over the front bench clumsily as the wagon picks up speed and rumbles haphazardly down the beaten path.

I'm cornered, two against one. There's nowhere to go but forward. I'm poised to strike when the cart veers to the left. Toothless slams his weight into the side wall below us and comes crashing out the side, roaring harder then I've ever seen.

Tooth's down there, _right there_, but there's an obstacle between us. I raise a blade and slice right through it's neck, then jump through the blood and screaming. I land on Toothless, exhausted.

The fading sound of the retreating daemon shouting obscenities sets a jarring tone to our reunion. I'm exhausted, and Toothless seems more than willing to stay still while I collapse and lay sprawled over him, panting, tears threatening to spill over from the emotional toll of the last few days.

There's something cold overlapping his warm scales- metallic. I'm hesitant to open my eyes. Roaming shaking hands over the metal I'm able to distinguish chains. _What is this? Who could be capable of taking down a mature Night Fury with such equipment and transporting it?_

Just when I'm thinking we will stay like this forever, eternally bound to lie in stillness, Tooth stretches. Powerful wing muscles ripple below me and he lets out a low, deep growl. It's enough to rouse me from the stupor. Blinking rapidly, I try to clear my vision from the watery film. I pace with bitter hands and feet up his neck.

When I look into my dragons eyes, I see pure fear. I'm so close, but he somehow avoids my gaze.

:I can't think of what they wanted me for. What they would have _done_ to me:.

A second of hesitation. I plant a small kiss on the spot above his eyes, smile at the trust he gives me. A Night Fury would never admit it's weakness to anyone but it's other half.

:I'm here for you; I say, but it's already known.


	10. Knife

There's a shuffling behind the dragon and hybrid. A battered, bleeding daemon arises through pain and a haze of disorientation. Under the scuffed, muddy hood he raises eyes onto his target.

* * *

_A million million hateful thoughts are a blur of pure frenzy; The lengths gone to in pursuit of glory. Gorbechev, the bastard. Master, on his throne, surrounded by tens of advisers, spreadsheets and plans. Fungal farmers, homestays, the acidic tinge of the volcano. Finally, one blinding image; The Fury. What could have been a simple, by-the-numbers job reduced to ashes because of some little mutant and his lucky blow._

* * *

The daemon wipes mud from tired eyes, senses slowly clearing. With Hiccup and Toothless so engrossed in each other, it's an easy move to sneak behind the two. Both dragon and hybrid are dazed from fatigue, relishing in shared company and comfort after a battle seemingly won.

Trying to overcome searing pain from where the wagon wheel trampled over his torso, the creature raises a blade to dragon's neck and locks eyes with a suddenly terrified Hiccup. The moment drags, none daring to make a move in the tense stalemate.

It's a bluff; the master would be furious to see the champion Fury dead at his servant's hands, but it's a bluff endangering the unbreakable bond between two linked souls. He can see it now; the two rely on each other like two halves of a whole. Without one, the other would surely crumble.

The three draw quick, desperate breaths in the frigid Prussian mid-morning air. The daemon coughs, then dry retches, pain racking a weakened body. :Nice try, but I always get what I want. Now step aside human, or your precious drake bleeds:.

Hiccup's mind reels, going over possible outs. Losing Tooth, either to daemons or death, was unacceptable. Astrid, untrustworthy as she is, claimed daemons to have the power to turn others to their kind. It was a risk he could never take, the perceived sin of shooting down Toothless and ruining his tailfin all those years ago a mistake he would be loathe to add to. He stalls beneath an unforgiving sky and the despairing gaze of Toothless, hoping for the sudden arrival of Greisha or Astrid to somehow swing the situation to his favor. There's no sign of them, the thought a desperate clutch with the knowledge of it's impossibility so horribly clear in his mind.

Seething, the cloaked daemon exhales a heavy breath. :I know you can understand me human, I can see it in your face. You think me a fool? To wait around for someone to come across us like this?: He raises the blade ever so slightly, and the cold metal makes contact with the softer leathery skin of Toothless' neck. It's a sensitive spot, Hiccup knows, far too sensitive. The knowledge of what will immediately occur and the knowledge he cannot stop it a sickening truth.

All too quickly, Toothless' eyes flicker, then drop. He gives an unconscious gurgle, an off-kilter smile before falling on the blade.


	11. Hope

And time froze for an eternity.

The horrible realization of metal on flesh to unbearable to be realized in the eyes of the Dragon Rider. The grimace on the creature's face in sickening detail as the dagger bore into the oh-so prized target. Everything in slow motion, frightened birds escaping the scene as fast as possible, yet at a snail's pace. Two uncertain allies too late to do anything on the road behind, if there were anything to be done. Shaking chains and fearful 'caw's permeate the dreadful silence.

With Hiccup's mind a light speed blur and joints stiff as iron-bark, he tried to snap something within himself and _take action_. He pushed his body out of it's stubborn grasp on paralyzing shock and pushed forward, a desperate thought of 'maybe it's not too late' the only last sliver of hope.

But the malicious creature vanishes, and a flash of grey light envelops the scene as Toothless falls to the ground. A ton of pure Fury collapses on itself, smiling, at peace.

Hiccup is a stark contrast, in the ruinous wreckage and bloodied ground, he screams at the Dragon to _**get up**, **wake up**, _**_please Toothless don't do this don't do it don't. Don't. Don't_.** And as his wails turn to whimpers and he lays his head and hands against the Drake, Astrid works her way over broken debris. Flustered, bewildered, struggling to make her way through the haze and avoid any loose wreckage. She attempts to make sense of the situation under the pressure of a dying, incredibly valuable dragon and it's hysterical other half.

She takes stock, years of fighting experience guiding her through the situation.

_The coast is clear._

_There's a blade in the dragon's neck, about half of it's length buried, from what she can see._

The healer appears beside her, and she looks questioningly for help. But Greisha looks calm and composed, as if she had seen this before a thousand times over. From her satchel she gathers a long wind of gauze, unravels it meticulously, pulls the blade from it's lodging and quickly covers the wound over, rolling the long bandage around Toothless' neck.

The unconscious Fury grumbles as she and Astrid manipulate his large head to fit the covering.

"No arteries were severed. A close call." But her hands are shaking, and with a pale complexion she sits down next to Toothless with Astrid and Hiccup still reeling from shock. The hybrid isn't completely convinced his dragon survived, so Greisha lays her hand on his and places it over the huge beast's nostrils. Warm air comforts his hand as the aged healer feels his scales and hums contemplation over the Hybrid's nature.

Time passes. The world revolves around the three as they sit on the worn, seemingly unused path dreading the possible arrival of scornful Daemons, waiting for the sleeping giant beside them to awake. Every now and then Hiccup inspects the bandage, rubs between Toothless' eyes, or finds reassurance with Greisha that his mate is recovering well.

Eventually she tires of this and asks Hiccup why he values the Night Fury so much if he thinks it is so weak as to die from a little cut.

"We had an Elder like you in Berk. A wise old healer... She knew healing magic." Hiccup is looking at the floor, examining blades of grass.

Astrid perks up, stops unconsciously sharpening her sword as she had been for the last hour. "I still remember the last time I saw her... I sprained my ankle, twisted it when I caught it in a hole by a tree trunk."

The hesitation she had felt at speaking freely with her two strange companions melted somewhat. At a time where they were still threatened by a vengeful injured daemon, she spoke of the past.

"Gothi had a strange way of talking. Half of the time it was with her staff, writing in the ground. But a lot of the time she could tell you a lot with her expressions as well. She did so much for us, carried the village as much as Stoick did."

"What happened? Why did you leave?" He's still looking down, and for all his newfound strength and courage Astrid can tell she still makes the Viking nervous. But the question pains her enough, all the horrible truths untold for so long... "I got scared, alright! I'm only human, Hiccup, and when I saw the opportunity to leave, I did. Spitelout's friend was going out on a trading run, and I used the chance to get out. Everyone knew the way things were going. We were never going to survive."

Hiccup looked up at the Viking woman, ruffled hair over her eyes and sweat dropping from her face. "Astrid I-" But she gets up and walks away before he can say anything, and he can see the teardrops falling onto the ground silently. For not the first time, he wishes Astrid would be a little more open.

When Toothless' eye snaps open it takes a while for the others to notice, wrapped up as they are in their own thoughts. He takes a few moments holding back a yawn to make sure everything is safe, sniffs the air and startles everyone with a massive yawn. He shifts his neck around, getting a feel for the bandage encompassing it. "That comfortable enough, Dragon?" Greisha asked. Toothless turns to her, surprised and asks Hiccup :You brought someone else along? What are you planning?:. Hiccup spins around from his daydreaming state and launches himself at the dragon, who recoils slightly.

:Yeah, I love you too, bud; Toothless chuckles, grinning a dragon grin.

Hiccup shakes his head. :Don't you ever scare me like that again, okay?:.

"Right." Astrid snaps. "We ready to go? I'm itching to move here and I think I have some idea what direction that little bastard went."

The Night Fury raises up and stretches, kneading his claws into the ground and arching his back. He growls low and ruffles his wings, ear plates wiggling a bit as a breeze rushed down the dirt track they stood on.

"Lets not waste any time then." Hiccup follows Astrid's lead into the forest, Dragon at his side.

They come across the bleeding Daemon not long after, bleeding and gasping slayed against a tree trunk. Spotting them, he raises his eyes and tenses up. :Don't hurt me. I yield:.

Hiccup looks over the sorry sight. :So long as you can move you're a threat. How do I know you won't just vanish again and bring more around to finish us off? You almost killed my Dragon! I should just end you right now:.

:If I killed that Night Fury, I'd be dead. The master would label me a failure and have me executed:. He states matter-of-factly, hood hanging low over his defeated head.

:What does the master want with me?: Toothless interjects, pacing around the tree the Deamon is splayed upon and sniffing the air.

The daemon hesitates, weighing up whether to give away his master's plan.

Astrid has been watching the silent conversation intently, and recognized the telepathy from previous experience. All Daemons used it, and some dragons as well. But was the daemon talking to Hiccup as well? _Was that how he knew his dragon so intimately, a full telepathic connection_?

"We have a healer, and you don't look too great. How's about some answers and we'll think about patching you up a bit."

Hiccup jumps at the comment from Astrid.

"Do you know what you're doing?!"

"I've done this before, relax."

And the bleeding creature thinks for a second, then holds out his sprained arm. Greisha approaches carefully, kneeling down to inspect the injury. It was bent slightly out of place, and could be corrected quickly, yet painfully, with a quick correction. And the daemon gives a small nod, understanding, staying still while she snaps the bone back into place. Greisha can't help but think as to the normality of the creatures physiology**. **The daemon appeared completely normal apart from it's mastery of various magics, and would likely pass as a normal human to the untrained eye.

:The master wants you to be at his side for when he breaks the bounds of his cave and rules the earth. You are the one who defeated the gatekeeper, or so the story goes:, he says with an oddly casual shrug.

Toothless paws the ground.

:I still don't understand much of what you and your friends were talking about when we first met:.

The daemon casts it's mind back, recalls the events in that village. :Oh. My lackey mistook you for one of our kind. We take many forms:.

:So any creature we come across could actually be a daemon?!:

:In theory, yes. Daemons are always scarred and cut. You both have many, are imperfect like us:.

"You do realize we can't let you leave, right?" Hiccup only has half of his attention on the daemon now, and is inspecting a few new scars he gained from the last fight.

:Let me come with you. I might as well, after this failure I don't want to see what the others have to say of me:.

This ruffles a few feathers, but between that and murdering the daemon on the spot, Hiccup can't bring himself to refuse. Astrid opens her mouth to object, then thinks better of it.

The day winds down slowly. Toothless, of course, demands independence from the others. Claiming the cut on his neck to be nothing at all to worry about, he takes to hunting as a way of burning his unspent energy from the day trapped. It feels good to run, if not fly. He takes at least an hour to himself in the forest finding the best prey available, although with small pickings he settles for less than he desires. Night takes hold and he makes his way back.

* * *

:Viking:.

Astrid looks up to see Toothless looming over her, perched on a sturdy branch with his eyes shimmering green and the rest of him encompassed by night. His stance radiates power, foreboding. It's a warning, telling all he needs to with his powerful muscles and hard scales so briefly illuminated by the moonlight. But he speaks anyway, for a Dragon is meant to settle manners though amicable means if possible, as fighting among nest-mates is such a waste of energy in the end. Shows of power can settle matters by themselves, and Toothless can see the figure he strikes has hit his mark.

:I know you can't understand my language, girl. I probably couldn't even teach you. But I have to tell you this; That boy is **mine**. You hurt him, you hurt me. I saw you every night you watched us sleep, mate, and go about our lives those weeks. You're not as quiet as me.

You think yourself tough. I know, you have a lot to prove, and you think our mission unworthy of yourself. Very well, but if I see one more finger laid on my other half, I will show you what these claws are capable of. I have a set of very particular skills. Skills that are a nightmare for people for you:.

He stretches, scratches an itch.

:But I won't prattle on about what Dragons can do to Humans, you know that well enough:.

To Astrid, it seemed he had vanished into the night immediately after that last sentence, had she recognized it as one. But Toothless had remained just long enough to ascertain his threat had taken hold before leaving.


	12. Alliance

:So long as we don't light any fires or draw unnecessary attention to ourselves, we can rest here for the night undisturbed: says Lith, surprisingly casual for someone who just turned himself over to the enemy.

Hiccup surveys the area; moderately wooded area sheltered by a natural rock wall. He receives a nudge from a scaly black head and turns to smile at Toothless. The dragon had been out hunting and managed to catch three whole rabbits it now held in it's gums. :Showoff:, pouts Hiccup. :Even without flight you're still the best hunter. You don't even need me:.

Toothless rubs his head against Hiccups amber locks. :I need you for more important stuff than food; and nips the young Hybrid on the ear, getting a blush and a chastising look in return.

Greisha starts setting down her bag of supplies by the rock wall, and drops the artificial tail fin Hiccup had apparently forgot about during the chaotic fight with the Daemons. "There will be time for playing around later. We need a plan of action. Ideas, anyone?"

"Let me get this right", Astrid starts, "The idea is to fix up Hiccup's dragon so they can fly into your castle and kill the head Master?"

Hiccup meekly nods. Greisha's is more forceful and sure foot.

"You're insane Hiccup. You always have some crazy scheme that never works out. And you too." Toothless growls at her and Astrid lurches back. When the imposing dragon stands in front of Hiccup in a protective stance, she scowls.

There's anger there, yes. But Hiccup can see something more, and the outrage Astrid had thrown at him the past few days started to make a bit more sense. Could it actually be possible Astrid is _jealous_ of Toothless? He shoves the thought back. All signs pointed to it as the most likely explanation, but his memories of Astrid being the hot shot on Berk that all the boys ogled over remained as Astrid's defining characteristic in his mind. There was no way she saw him as desirable, or Toothless as competition, right?

"I still need to work out how to fix Toothless' tail. It's regrown to the point where ahh... It's off balance. He can't fly like this."

"Can't you just cut some off? Dragons heal fast, right?" Astrid questions.

"No, he won't let me hurt him. Maybe you could? That axe is very sharp."

Toothless gives a warning look, and for a second Astrid can swear she sees her own death at the claws of the Night Fury if she so much as touches him. "Ahhhhhh - No, I'm good thanks," she half-mumbles.

Lith snags the axe from her hand, impatient, and walks over to Toothless while Astrid backs up to a tree, the usually unshakable woman noticeably disturbed by the combination of a widely feared dragon and her sworn enemy, a daemon, in the same place.

:I've seen Night Furies fly before. I would be loathe to damage a member of a species I respect so much, Toothless:.

:You and your gang showed no respect for me at all when you captured me:, the dragon snapped back.

:The master holds a lot of power over us, much as Dragon Alphas do over their kind:.

:I've dealt with that before... I understand:.

Lith lifts the axe head to inspect the blade. It is extremely sharp, and cuts even daemon skin quite easily when he runs his finger along the edge. Dragon scale doesn't come off easily, but with enough force and the right angle, he surmises a few precise cuts would bring the tail fin to look like it's counterpart. The glossy black scales on the tail fin are also impeccably fine and soft, comparable to the surface of Toothless' neck or certain parts of his wings.

He runs his hand over the undamaged fin to precisely measure out the dimensions that needed to be replicated. Toothless gives a small shiver, touched by someone other that his Hiccup in a long time. Lith swings the axe through the air a few times, then a few times more toward the fin to line up the swing. Eventually Toothless growls, demands :Hurry up and do it already!:.

Lith composes himself and swings carefully, yet with speed and force, cutting a fine layer of leathery and impeccably fine scales off the surface. After another cut, he stands back and seems satisfied with the work. The group sighs collectively. Hiccup leans in to take a look. :Seems you know the Night Fury better than he does himself:, Lith states. :Would this work?:

Hiccup's mind churns, the basic ideas of aerodynamics learnt from a long flying experience coming into use. He lays one hand over each fin and tests for differences, imagines the way the wind would handle in contact with each small bump and ridge. Then he gathers the artificial fin from it's resting spot and thanks Greisha for bringing it. He compares the rig to the cut fin, hums. Gets his notebook out of it's pocket and makes a few sketches on the remaining bits of paper. Studying dragon physiology puts him in his element and Hiccup labors over every detail of aeronautic viability.

Toothless wriggles more and more as Hiccup thinks. Eventually he slaps the boy with the side of his tail fin. :Let's just give it a try. Lets go:.

:I'm excited too bud, but I think you should rest it for tonight to let it heal a bit. If a few fine scales grow over the cut it'll lessen drag. Plus, you're neck's still healing:.

The dragon slumps down, defeated. All things considered, he was pretty spent. Hiccup passed him a rabbit, handing another to Greisha after Toothless had charred it slightly. Astrid stalks off, muttering something about not eating something that's been in that _thing's_ mouth.


	13. Lover

I look over at Hiccup, finishing off the last of his fish, manipulating it with his nimble fingers to get to every little bit of flesh and rip it off. I feel a little bit of jealousy at everything humans can do with their clever paws. Then remember that Hiccup will always use his hands for me, and feel proud. Astrid's looking over at him from her spot against a tree trunk. I don't know what that look is supposed to mean, but I give her a sharp growl to be safe and she stiffens up.

Good.

Hiccup's mine, and I coo at him to get over under my wing. I'm tired, and I won't sleep without him. Hiccup's new wings are so fresh and glossy, I run my wing over them, and feel the contact of our sameness. _Did I give you this?_ I wonder. _Magic is a foreign concept to me, but perhaps this is natural? The daemon Hiccup thinks is safe enough to travel with us might know something about this, perhaps. I've made my peace with him now, so I might bring it up in the morning._

* * *

I'm woken up by another human Hiccup picked up, she seems very similar to him in vocal tone so I'd imagine she came from the same island chain. Humans, like dragons, have many differences between them, depending on where they live. She checks the bandage, and cuts it off. She gives me a scratch where Hiccup knows I like to be scratched and I lose myself for a second.

She has such a smug smile when she stops and turns away that I turn to Hiccup, irritated. He already knows what I'm going to ask, though.

:Greisha knew dragons a long time ago... Toothless, this is pretty out there, I know, but she raised Red Death from a hatchling:.

I want to roar at him in indignation but catch myself. Hiccup will have an explanation for such an outrageous claim, right?

:As it turns out; he continues, :That volcano had worse stuff than the Red Death in it. Lith, and all of his kind, live there. That's why we have to get Greisha's daemon hunters back in order. If the daemons are left unchecked, there's no telling what they will do:.

:You're telling me we killed the guardian to what is basically hell on earth?:

:Basically, yeah:.

:I don't believe it:, I huff. _But Lith had said his master has a power over him like Red Death had over me, and I sensed no lie._

:Yes, Toothless, I'm a master deceiver and I'm spinning a huge lie right here:. He punches me and I recoil slightly, not from pain, but in mock affront. :Stupid Reptile! Listen to me!:.

:Okay but hold on. I don't think all daemons are bad. Look at Lith, he was just a soldier following orders:.

Lith stumbles over to us, still half asleep. :Dragon Boy and Night Fury, I would appreciate it if you didn't slaughter the whole of my species. I don't know if we're _evil, _even if the master's plan to take over the world is:.

:Even if we had the resources to kill off all daemons, I still wouldn't do it. We can't make that kind of call:.

Lith nods, and he seems to respect Hiccup as he does I. He can't help himself staring at Hiccup's fresh wings and nearly fully scaled body, and I don't blame him. Hiccup has the freshness of a hatchling, and seems to glow even in the low lighting shimmering through the tree canopy.

:Do you have any knowledge of what can transform a human like this?; I ask hopefully.

:That's a mystery to me. We daemons come in many forms ourselves, but what causes that to happen is unknown. There are some who look into worldbending and other spells to try and find what makes them possible. To me it's just an energy I summon:.

:Worldbending?: I ask.

:Moving great distances with the grey smoke. Takes a lot of energy, which is why I couldn't move far when you injured me:.

:Could you also take someone with you?: asks Hiccup. He's already planning something else.

_Probably looking for a quicker way to Greisha's castle_, I surmise.

:I can carry a few with me. That would be very strenuous. I need a lot more rest to achieve something like that:.

:Okay; Hiccup says as I push him away, now impatient. :I'll call on you if there's anything else. Rest up:.

He turns to me and we walk a bit to loosen our limbs. I can tell Hiccup's excited to try out flying, so our first stop is with Greisha so Hiccup knows my neck and tailfin have healed well. When she and Hiccup are both completely satisfied I'm in alright condition to be flying we start off to find a clear area to take off. I think back to when I tried flying the very second my tail fin regrew and hurt Hiccup in the process.

Does he take better care of me than I do of him? Hiccup has got so strong now, he saved me from daemons the same way he did from Red Death's control so long ago. Except now he can do it with his body _and_ mind.

I lick Hiccup all the way up the back as we walk. He complains and wriggles, but he knows what it means; that I love him and care about him, and if he smells a bit more like me, then he knows he's mine.

Hiccup spots something I don't, and takes after it. I admire the way his body works for a second. Although he will never be as fast as a four legged land creature like a wolf or panther, he carries momentum well and chooses good feet positioning on the tangled forest floor. He's good at keeping his wings in check, and wears them well.

He returns to me after not too long. He's done the same thing I did for him last night and hunted down breakfast. Two rabbits, one for each of us. They seem abundant here, but Hiccup tracked them down without a dragon's heightened sense of smell or sight. Showoff. I could have caught those easier, but he had to go and prove his worth to provide for me. Stupid human.

He flicks the bones at a bird, and it takes off with a startled "caw!"

:Sure are a lot of ravens around these parts:, he says to me with that goofy smile. I watch the raven fly off for a second.

I can't stay mad at Hiccup for more than a passing moment.

:I bet you could fly like a raven now, all limber and graceful:.

:Most people don't see ravens that way. They think ravens are bad omens:.

:Well we try to think differently, little one:. I gesture for him to follow.

:There's a clear spot:, he exclaims, jumping on my back and pushing me to get there as fast as possible. I take a run into the small forest clearing and take off with a few clumsy, but powerful wing beats.

With everything seeming stable enough, I level out and crane around to smile at Hiccup. Everything is right again, maybe better. I take us a little higher, because I know he has the same itch I do. He wants to stretch his wings and feel the rush.

:I haven't flown far yet:. For all his excitement, my Hiccup is nervous.

:Anything happens, I'm here. You remember all the times you fell? I'll always be faster than you can drop:.

He gulps, nods. Re-positions himself and stretches a little.

:Remember, all you have to do is stay upright and beat your wings down. The rest will come:.

:Okay, bud:.

He drops off and beats his wings down a few time, getting comfortable with maintaining altitude. He tentatively pushes forward and I watch him fly for a bit. All things considered, Hiccup is flying better than me at the moment, healthy as he is. He picks things up quickly for a novice, and what he lacks in speed he makes up for with constantly increasing agility. After a while he starts getting cocky, taking risks. He flies as high as he dares, then plummets down in a straight line.

I dive after him as he falls closer and closer to deadly hard ground. Way too close, I grab his coat collar and beat my wings down. It's too late, though. We crash into the ground and I growl at him as soon as I recover.

Hiccup laughs. "That was awesome!"

:Come here, whelp; I growl.

He runs, but not as fast as me. I grab him and pin him down.

"Agh!"

:Stay right there:, I command, and land. Just in case he thinks of doing otherwise I lay my paw over his slim body and dig my claws into his clothing. My paw is as large as his torso, almost, so as much as Hiccup squirms he has no chance of escape.

Now I know how to make him pay for scaring me like that.

_Damn, he looks tasty_. I bring myself over him and lean down, shoving as much of my tongue into his little mouth as I can, as far as possible. He can't take much, as big as my tongue is. I wrap mine around his tongue, using the split in my tongue to manipulate his, asserting dominance over it as I have him.

Running my huge tongue out and over his face, I leave a trail of thick saliva over his head and down his back. I move back for a second and look over Hiccup, whimpering slightly, my spit dripping off his whole upper body as he starts to shiver. He looks at me, then my growing drakehood emerging from it's slit. He gazes over it's cerulean and violet length, curious as ever. I let him take the initiative.

He moves his hands over the head, collecting precum, then, slathers it over the ridges of my member. I growl low right over him, looking down at his auburn hair and sparkling green eyes. He suckles on the tip and greedily takes more, working his tongue around the small ridges, exploring, tasting. He starts to work his warm, wet mouth further. My entire member is taken, prodding his throat deep down in it's very warmth and soft embrace. After he takes the whole of me a few times I pull out and wrap my paws around his body, feeling my scales on his. Like his face and feet, Hiccup doesn't have any scales around his tailhole. Now, the fun part. I position myself, moving my butt forward along the ground and lying back, wings spread long over the forest floor. Hiccup can now lower himself onto me at his own pace, which is important, because he tightens up over time and we haven't mated in awhile. The anticipation tenses me up, makes restraint so so difficult, I watch him lay his hands on my thighs and take a deep breath.

:What's more exciting? Mating or flying?: It's a common question between us, but Hiccup never gives me a straight answer.

:Both at the same time!: He grins. _I remember the time we tried that. Maybe we could do it again?_

He hesitates at my tip. I feel the tightness, the warmth of his body heat radiating against me. I enter, and he gasps meekly, mouth wide and still with a bit of precum on his tongue. He bites his lower lip and pushes down some more. I buck up a little to surprise him. "Ngh!" He takes some more of me in a quick push. "Agh! Toooth!" _Ohhh yes, little one. _ I buck up some more, a little more smooth this time, and I'm buried to the hilt in my mate. His moans become the chorus to my thrusts as I buck up, giving a roar in response every time he smacks back down on me and he makes contact with my scale. I exit him for a second to re position us and cover him with my body, putting him on all fours with his now used and accommodating hole ready for me to enter. I move into him all at once, and Hiccup gives the loudest and most intense moan I've heard in a while when I hit that special spot inside him. I pound him with my entire length now, searing the ground in front of us in excitement as I bury myself, pull back, and slam into him again. Soon I'm close, and pull out just before I burst. Hiccup wraps his hands around my cock and works his clever fingers back and forth. I release my load all over him and he gasps and splutters at the amount, which covers him completely. I let out a satisfied growl, then wrap my tongue around his stiff cock. Hiccup doesn't need much more to climax and lets his cream spill onto my tongue, which I swallow greedily.

Hiccup is mine, I bring him under my wing we lie down to rest. Hiccup looks at me, covered in my seed. Perhaps he would be a bit cleaner and wouldn't glare at me if I cleaned him off a bit, so I lick him over and we relax for awhile, simply enjoying the closeness and peaceful surroundings. He lays his body against mine, I rest my wing over him. Everything is good in this moment, even if Hiccup's ripped coat and the cuffed earth would suggest otherwise. I take solace in the fact his pants survived, and his notebook lies unharmed next to his destroyed shirt.


	14. Defender

:Lith:.

:Gorbechov:. Lith responds, surprised.

:The dragon is in this sector, have you seen any sign of it?:

:No; he lies.

The wolf-Daemon narrows his eyes. :Why lie to me, Lith? Want all the glory for yourself?:

Lith simply stares him down, still resting against the tree as he had for the past few hours.

Gorbechov's fur bristles, and he bares his teeth at the impudent daemon before him. :Where are your lackeys?:

:None of your business Gorbechov. Leave me to my work:.

Two stalking creatures pace into position on either side of Gorbechov. His hunting pack. Like a wolf pack, he liked to bring down his targets with overwhelming numbers and tactics. Lith heard rumor Gorbechov could call feral wolves to his side, although the two beside him now were obviously too big to be natural wolves. Looking at the two large, well built wolves accompanying his rival, he was grateful they could not yet sniff out the healer that mended his arm.

:What do we have here?: remarks the lead wolf, surveying the ground around Lith's camp. :Dragon tracks. Let me guess, you know nothing of this?:

Lith tenses up, tries to find something to say. Before he knows it, the three daemons have passed him and follow the tracks to where he knows Toothless and Hiccup went. Groaning, he pushes himself up and tries to get ahead of them.

Lith pushes himself to get around the three wolves and warn the two dragonkin that accepted him into their care. Fortunately, Gobechov and his muscle are too busy debating over Lith's possible motives and the most likely reason for his two accomplices to be missing, they don't notice him slipping around them. As when he captured Toothless, Lith one proves the skill of his stealth to overcome an obstacle and one-up a foe.

Lith turns to the approaching pack as they walk into the small clearing, growling. Confused both at the lingering scent of sex and the daemon blocking their path to the dragon they want. The situation only becomes more tense when Astrid drops from a tree, pulls her axe from it's holster and assumes a fighting position. "I've cut down more than a few mangy mutts in my time" she taunts.

:You DARE?!: The largest wolf blusters at her, growls.

Lith stands defiantly before the three as Toothless growls back at the wolves and Hiccup places his hand on the dragon's head to steady him.

:You're outmatched, old friend:. Lith states, calm.

Gorbechov leans forward and growls loud and fierce. Toothless unleashes a bolt of blue flame at him, and it strikes the wolf dead-on, knocking him back a few feet, burning off a patch of fur and dismaying the other wolves, as they retreat to guard him.

"Nice one, Bud." Hiccup says softly.

:I never miss:, replies Toothless, smug.

Suddenly one of the wolves pounces past Lith, circles round and leaps at Toothless' neck. Astrid intercepts, swings and lands the sharp axe blade in the wolves' chest, leaving it whimpering on the ground before her.

:You will pay, traitor:. Gorbechov and his wolf back out of the clearing, eyes darting between the motley crew. When they are gone, the group relax.

"Thank you Astrid." Hiccup lays her hand on her shoulder and pulls her into a thankful hug.

"It's nothing, really. Just doing my job." Astrid peels herself from the dragon boy's grasp, gathers herself. "Hiccup... I know I've been a bit hostile."

Hiccup scratches the back of his neck, laughs nervously. "I've been a bit the same."

"Maybe we can try to be friends?"

"Yeah, we can try" replies Hiccup, still a bit unsure about the viking girl.

:What happened to your coat?: Asks Lith, confused.

:Ah, umm, I was shredding it for materials: Hiccup lies.

Lith, confused, shakes his head, then walks to check no one else will sneak up on the group.

Hiccup punches Toothless in the ribs and the dragon warbles :Oww, that one actually hurt!:

:Serves you right, useless dragon!: Hiccup shoots back at him.

Astrid, oblivious to the telepathy between the three, cleans her axe against the grass and turns to Hiccup. "Does the master strategist have a plan?"

:I'm think I have enough energy to worldbend with us all: Lith advises.

"We're going" Hiccup decides. "Let's find Greisha, get to the castle and go from there".


	15. Targets

Heat. Vivid, red, searing, the lava that kept the interior of the Master's chamber boiled at the aging daemon looking down at it, stone faced. He stares into the liquid for a long time, lost in thought. After a while he snaps out of this zen-like state and takes a walk along the upper walkway of the executive caverns. Light from the bubbling lava flickers over the rocks around him, over his sullen face, like a room lit only by one huge fireplace. He humms a somber tune, re-adjusts his dark grey coat, grimaces slightly at the scuff marks on his tailor made shoes.

He comes to a stop beside a large cage housing a slumbering beast. He turns and whistles a few notes, eliciting a response from the scaled creature. The dragon unfurls itself slowly, taking its time to awake from its restful state. It looks silently at it's jailer with emotionless eyes. Blinks a few times as the daemon master returns its gaze in much the same manner. Finally, the dragon speaks in a low, smooth tone.

:Do I amuse you?:

The daemon master cocks an eyebrow, and looks genuinely curious as the the nature of this question. With no hood over his head, as so many daemons wear, his features are easily distinguishable in the warm light of the cavern and he appears eerily human, save for the subtle scars on his face or small stubby horns on his head. A perceptive eye would notice the strange tone to his skin, however even that would be easily overlooked by most.

:I am a dragon. I am meant to fly, and burn. What good am I as a pet in a cage?:

:This cage:, explains the daemon, :This cage is my power. For what good is it to let dragons, the ultimate beasts of power and destruction, fly and set things aflame, if they are not mine? Trust me, you will be mine. It is but a matter of time, and everything will be mine:.

The dragon lies down, unsatisfied with the answer and uninterested with the fire burning now within his captor's eyes. To be captured was one thing, but by a being so irrational and callous was a horrific blow to his spirits.

Seeing more of the unbearable daemons attend their 'master', he turns around and inspects the same rock wall he had memorized a hundred times over. _Foolish. _He thinks to himself. _Delusions of grandeur and control, because he can order a few troops._

:We have news of the Night Fury:.

This got the head daemon's interest. He turns to the messenger, :What news?; he demands.

:He is with the boy and three others. They are in _this_ area of Prussian-Europe:, the henchman points on a map. :They have a defector with them:.

:Who gathered this information?:.

:Gorbechov's crew, sir:.

:I want to see him at once:.

:Indeed, sir:. The daemon salutes, leaves.

As he waits, the master writes down each detail into the logbook sitting on his desk by the railing. From here, he can see down into the depths of the volcano, onto so many lives obedient to his cause. Beside the desk lies a filing cabinet with many similar logbooks on other projects. If one wished, they could see the entire history of his ambitious rise in those notes, although that would be easier said than done. None have entered the heart of the volcano yet, and the intimidating defense to his lair has stopped armies in their tracks.

When Gobechov paces up the stairs he does not stand or address any formal greeting.

:Gorbechov, there was one more to your crew:.

:Yes:, states the wolf, as his lackey appears at his side. :Monroe was cut down by one of the Night Fury's protectors. A female warrior, hailing from the Order, from the looks of her clothing:.

:The Order. I wonder what interest they would have in the Night Fury... Did you manage to pick up anything else unusual?:

:I never suspected Lith to be a traitor, Master. He attacked us, defending the humans and dragon. Also, he stonewalled me on every question I asked when I confronted him. I suspect they got to him somehow:.

:Anything else?:

:That boy you mentioned was there. He is attuned to the dragon so far as to adopt it's physical traits; scales, wings, possibly more:.

:Let Raen know the mission parameters remain unchanged. That dragon is a powerful prize, and it's not getting away that easy:.

Gorbechov turns and starts to pad back down the steps.

:Gorbechov:

He stops.

:Element of surprise, yes? I expect you to execute this properly like someone deserving of my time:.

:Yes, sir:.

The Master now turns to a daemon compiling notes by the wall in a small book quietly. The daemon in question notices and looks up, respectful.

:I have a lot of questions for that Night Fury, and his boy. Add the hybrid to our list of targets. The dragon is still top priority:.

The henchman nods in response.

* * *

Gorbechov angrily stomps down the last few stairs to the main level. He shoves past a mason as he does so, causing the workman to chip a jagged piece into the second-last step of the staircase. He carries on, parting ways with his pack mate and approaches Raen. The daemon Raen takes the form of a crow, strangely an effective form for compiling different notes onto a massive board, much as a magpie would with shiny objects in it's nest.

Raen stops when he notices the wolf watching him work. He glides down from the top of the massive board, lands, ruffles his feathers.

:Gorbechov, something bad happen, friend?: remarks the bird, noticing his down trod expression.

:I lost a good man. Dimitri made a brave but risky move today, pounced at our target and got shot down:.

:What a shame. He was very loyal to you, but sometimes that wolf took too many chances:.

:Indeed. He will be missed... Master says nothing is to change with the plan:.

:You got close to the Night Fury though, right?: The small bird's eyes lit up with this realization.

:That dragon has a lot of backup. It's not as easy as we thought, especially when you're caught off guard:.

:I was really hoping you guys would finish this one up. Boss has me working round the clock on it, I'm exhausted:.

:Hang in there, birdy. I'll take him down:.

The wolf turns to move on, but is stopped when Raen lands on his shoulder.

:Do you ever think Master attracts too much attention to us? Hunting down dragons like this, it's going a bit too far, right?:

:He's so fixated because it's the one who killed the guardian. This isn't like that one in the cage, an opportunistic grab. I don't think he will rest till he has it. You know what he's like sometimes: Gorbechov remarks, walking toward his chamber with the crow digging softly into his shoulder, and he found himself thankful Raen files his claws down.

:I just worry sometimes. Take care, wolf:. Raen flies back to his post as the wolf crawls into his den and tries to clear his mind, yet the image of Lith and his steadfast attitude kept returning to him.

_You've never been passionate about anything before Lith, why now?_


	16. Distance

They find Greisha back at the original campsite, mashing herbs together into a small bowl. "I've been off collecting a few plants that grow in this area. They make a fantastic healing balm for humans, but I thought with the way Toothless and Hiccup have attuned to each other so well, maybe there's enough human in Toothless for this to have an effect," she muses.

Toothless paces up to the concoction and gives it a sniff. Indeed, it did smell a lot like the native flora, yet he holds back in apprehension.

:Night Fury, the healer has set my arm perfectly and I feel as healthy as I did before our fight. Trust her:. Lith moves his arm around every way and smiles under his hood to prove his words.

"What happened to your shirt?" Greisha suddenly remarks as she notices Hiccup. Shocked, she drops the poultice and gasps. Luckily Toothless is right under it in time and catches it in his mouth. The herbs taste great, and before anyone can say or do anything he's swallowed the lot. Toothless licks his chops and looks suddenly guilty at Greisha as she groans at the loss of so much medicine.

"It's meant to be applied _directly_, but I'm not going for an exact science anyway. Seeing how well you're moving and how well the scar has healed already, that should do fine."

Toothless nods, abashed. He nuzzles against Hiccup's shoulder when the others turn their attention to discussing the medicine Greisha concocted.

:You make such good friends Hiccup; says the dragon to his rider.

Hiccup blushes slightly, not expecting the praise. :Greisha's pretty good, right?; He responds.

:I mean it. You've brought together a crew that are all completely different and normally would want nothing to do with each other. I don't know why, exactly. I never really understand your plans until their done:.

:Dragon Boy; interrupts Lith, :I can take you to the castle of the Order. I should warn you, first-timers can experience severe nausea, vomiting, travel sickness, hallucinations, paranoia, blackouts, tiredness or insomnia after travel:.

:Maybe if you're weak: Toothless remarks.

:The Master compiled statistics about all side effects, those are pretty common:.

:To daemons, sure, not dragons:.

Astrid's still cleaning her axe of daemon blood. She runs her coat over it in smooth, practiced motions. Beloved as her axe is, it would be heresy to rush the job or miss a spot. She keeps an eye on the rest of the group and with perception honed over years of combat, notices the silent dialogue between daemon and dragon kin.

"Is anyone talking about me? I have a right to know!"

The comment catches everyone off guard, with all except Hiccup not having seen her return.

"We're planning how to handle this whole 'getting to the Order base' thing. I'm gonna need your help Astrid, if you could give us a rough idea of where exactly it's located so Lith can pinpoint it in his mind."

"Oh... Sure. It's straight east from here. You hit the coast, then go north until you hit a large river."

"That's about as clear as I guess directions could ever be, but I don't know if Lith can work off-"

Hands firmly grasped on his temples, Lith gasps, states; :Found it:.

"You're not planning to use that daemon magic, right Hiccup? Because that would be insane."

Hiccup gives her a knowing look.

"No. Nono nonono no!" She exclaims, palm out and head down. "I would rather ride on the back of your dragon before using dark magic."

"Look Astrid. I'm trusting this dragon, and this daemon. No problem, trust me."

Astrid looks at Hiccup's steel resolve and sighs. Greisha speaks from her place beside Lith as the daemon inspects his fingers and rubs them over each other, testing the scars for how well they have healed.

"Lith holds no threat to us. If his magic gets the job done, I'll consider it a favor re payed for his fixed arm."

Lith gives her a small nod.

:The best way to group travel is to link arms over each others shoulders:.

"You coming with us, Astrid?" Hiccup queries.

Astrid looks at each of three creatures around her in turn. Can she place her trust in such strange characters? Hiccup makes it look effortless, something he had done a hundred times before. She locks eyes with Hiccup. "Promise you won't get me killed?"

Hiccup grits his teeth and breaths in. "Okay."

"Let's go."

In a group, they link together and steel themselves for the daunting experience. In a flash, they are rushing over countryside so fast it is all but indistinguishable in the rush of sensation they experience. As soon as it started, the trip comes to a screeching halt and they crash into hard ground somewhere far from where they started.

Lith is the first to stand up and gather himself, quickly followed by Toothless. Lith glares at the dragon. :You:, he says pointing, :are heavy:. He strides over to Greisha, who seemed to take the trip badly. Toothless growls indignation behind him, bares teeth.

:Healer?: He places his hand on hers as the grey mist caused from the spell dissipates around them.

Greisha looks up, exhausted. "I'll just sit here for a bit. I'm okay," she says somewhat unconvincingly.

A voice calls out behind them; "There's the castle!" Astrid is perched on top of a rock, hand over her eyes to cut through the glare of a now blazing sun.

:Your clan mate is very resilient: notices Lith, surprised.

:She always was. As long as I knew her: agrees Hiccup, and joins Astrid on top of the boulder to gaze over the treeline at the Order's base of operations.

"You see that window there? That's the master's chambers."

It was a fair distance, but squinting his eyes Hiccup easily made out the window in question. It seemed a simple and quick mission to fly up to it and jump in.

"Thanks, Astrid. Anything else I should know?"

"The master always has guards posted around the upper stories. If you're going to run around in there, I'd take it easy."

Hiccup nods, scrambles back down to Toothless, Greisha and Lith.

:I'm still feeling a bit off after that: he admits, sitting down next to Greisha and running a hand through his longish hair. The strange process of talking interchangeably between telepathy and vocalizing was gradually becoming more natural, and he found himself in a strangely relaxed state as Toothless joined them and they prepared themselves for the upcoming assault.

Astrid clambers down from her spot after a while and stretches. Seeing the purposeful look in her eyes Hiccup shakes himself out of his zen state. "Looking to go somewhere?" He asks.

"I need to get back to the castle myself, actually. I was due back today, so I might as well get going."

"Take care, Astrid."

"After today," Astrid smirks, "Nothing's going to catch me off guard. I'll catch up with you guys there."

She gives a nod to the group and walks off through the trees, axe sheathed and boots crunching dried leaves.

* * *

As the sky begins to darken and the moon begins it's slow rise dragon boy and night fury rise. Lith notices from where he sits honing his magical energy and walks over to them.

:I'll stay here and look over the healer, Dragon Boy:.

Hiccup nods. "Greisha, we're going to speak to your son."

"Be cautious, young viking. I fear with time his anger and callous nature would have only strengthened."

Toothless gives a reassuring rumble, clearly to say "Don't worry, we know what we're doing" as he stands confident beside Hiccup.

Hiccup jumps onto the 'Fury's back, pumped up. _The rush of adventure, purpose, sensation. The call of the night sky and the need to move. His best friend and more. Flying._

With one swift wing beat they took off. Soaring quietly towards the castle. As they glide over treetops Toothless flies with a stale expression and little regard for the world around him. Hiccup crawls up the Night Furies back and looks down over Toothless' head into his big green eyes.

:You're still beating yourself up:.

No response from the black lizard.

:Everything is fine, but you're still angry because you needed help:.

Hiccup sees Toothless' eyes narrow and mouth bare teeth.

:Look at me:.

Toothless raises his head and locks his large emerald eyes with Hiccup's small jade ones. Speaks.

:I don't deserve to fly with you. You've done nothing but improve yourself and me, while I drag you down. You don't need me Hiccup. Just go away with Astrid. I saw the way you reacted after she saved me from that daemon. You deserve to be someone from your own kind, not a stupid big lizard that poisoned you to be like him:.

A moment of silence passes between the two. Hiccup is focused, but not on his mate's despondence.

:You have flown for thirty seconds, perfectly straight and level, without looking:. A tear falls from Hiccup's eye to land on the dragon's snout. :We could have arrived at the castle by now, but you spotted it a long time ago, didn't you? I only just see it now, but you judged how much longer it would take to reach it a minute ago. Your sense of distance, vision and direction are all so finely attuned and cohesive that you can fly on feel alone once you know where your going:.

Hiccup digs a hand into his pants and digs out his notebook; starts scribbling down this new fact about his dragon's capabilities. He blinks, amazed at the things he could still discover about the one he shares every waking and unwaking moment with.

:You gave me everything you had. Every little thing you had. I've seen your best and worst:.

He gains altitude to rise above a cloud.

:But at your worst your still the best:.

:At my best I am the worst:.

Hiccup runs his hand over the ridges on his mount's head. Sighs. :Why do you do this to me? I respect you so much, Tooth, you know this:.

Toothless merely grunts and snaps his head around, slows himself and lands gently a safe distance from the castle they plan to infiltrate. The dragon paws at the ground, trees, whatever he can get his claws at to vent his feelings.

:I want to hurt something. There's someone you want me to hurt, right?: Toothless grumbles as he barely resists the urge to light the ground around himself.

Hiccup shakes his head. :Maybe rough up a bit. Concentrate, Tooth, we need to be quiet. You're the master at this, I want to follow your lead on this one, Bud:.

The dragon takes a deep breath, releases it slowly through his slim nostrils. :Who are we looking for?:

:The leader. Someone with Greisha's looks and voice. Her son:.

:A Viking? One of your kin?:.

:Mmhmm:.

:Easy enough to sniff out then. Let's go:.


	17. Negotiator

They stalk quietly through the moonlight. Hiccup unsheathes and checks his knives as he paces past tree trunks. Toothless attunes himself to the night, moves his ears back, listens, observes. They circle slowly around the perimeter of the castle, around the fortified walls and place themselves under the large main tower. A far distance above them, under a dim moon lies the top window they seek.

Without speaking, Hiccup effortlessly jumps on Toothless and they take off behind the cover of the tower and high, sturdy stone walls. With each strong wing beat they rise up the face of the tower. They take note of the many torches and guards still posted down below on the walls at this late hour, steel themselves, focus. Just under the tower's final window, Hiccup pushes lightly down on the base of Toothless' neck. They level out and maintain altitude as Hiccup sheathes one knife for added grip needed as he executes the next maneuver.

He leaps deftly and grips with dexterous fingers to the window sill, plants his feet against the rough, studded stone surface of the tower wall. Hiccup pauses, breathes. He brings himself up ever so slightly to sneak a glance at the room inside. Clear. Quickly he motions his head and the waiting Night Fury dives into the room, lands on all fours onto a red plush rug. Toothless reaches over and grasps Hiccup by the arm with teeth retracted, pulls him with a swift motion into the room.

Toothless paces carefully over to the slightly ajar door from which candlelight softly spills. He sniffs the gap, perks his ears. His eyes go wide.

:Back!: Toothless commands.

They take shelter past the door along the wall, so that any who enter would not immediately have them in line of sight. Breathing quietly, Hiccup waits tense watching over Toothless' wing at the flickering light invading the room through the small gap, knife in each hand. Toothless pushes his teeth out and works his claws into the floor rug in slow motions. They wait.

The door pushes open in a sudden slam and a middle aged, stubbled man smoking rolled herb in a comfortable gown enters the room brashly. Contrariety to his force entering, he otherwise possesses a relaxed nature, possibly due to the weed he smokes, and hums gently as he puffs on the paper and herb and slowly meanders over the soft rug towards the window. The man holds himself with a sense of entitlement, and seems to hold the small room, which Hiccup supposed to be his bedchamber, as his own by his comfortable disposition and familiarity with the room's features.

Toothless stalks up behind the man, a huge reptilian monster easily stalking the small room as he closes the door behind him, somehow almost silently, with a swish of the tail. He angles his jaw around the man's neck as he stands oblivious admiring the night outside, and softly places his teeth against the surface of his tender skin.

:Tooth, this guy can help us deal with those daemons that captured you. We can't hurt him too bad: Reasons Hiccup as the man goes pale and freezes up. Only now does he feel the gentle rush of air escaping the Night Furies nostrils, and feel the intense stare of it's eyes behind him. Toothless growls, remembering the vexation of being outmaneuvered, outsmarted by the daemons. He locks his teeth down onto the base of the terrified man's neck and swings him out of the window, holding him in place. The dragon towers over him, black as night, furious, demanding.

Hiccup rushes over to the small window and tries to push his way past Toothless' wing. He manages to slip through the gap to look over the window at the man dangling, mouth open, eyes wide at Toothless.

"Uh, I'm really sorry about this!" Hiccup stammers in a hushed voice. "Please don't call out, we're only here to ask questions." He turns to his dragon, "Right, Toothless?"

Toothless relents and drags the man back through the window.

:I want a name and whatever it is you think you do here; The Night Fury demands, feet on either side of his victim and ears pointed to the door.

:_Dragons_?! No! Please...:. He writhes on the ground, trying to move from his spot under Toothless' head.

Hiccup balks at the telepathy from the man. :You speak our language?:

He hesitates, recoils as though he had said something wrong.

:My partner asked you a question, scumbag. _I_ asked you a question: Growls Toothless.

:My name is Adrian. I run the Order. I worked with dragons a long time ago. Please, no, don't hurt me. What do you want?:

Hiccup nudges in front of the dark spade head and piercing eyes staring down Adrian. He lays a hand on the shaking man's shoulder, kneels. :Easy, friend. We just want to talk. Could you cooperate with me, so my friend here doesn't have to get angry?:

Adrian backs himself up so he is against the wall under the windowsill. :Okay:, he relents.

Hiccup thinks for a second, turns to Toothless, and back to Adrian.

:Have you ever rode a dragon before?:

:He doesn't deserve to:, Toothless snorts.

Hiccup ignores the remark and carries on; :We're going to talk somewhere private:. He places his hand on Toothless' back and the dragon lowers to the ground. Linking his hand with Adrian's, he guides the unsettled man onto Toothless' back and places his hands in stable positions to hold on.

Toothless slithers out of the window, spreads his wings and becomes one with the night as his unwilling passenger holds on for dear life and whimpers. Hiccup jumps up to the windowsill, ruffles his wings, jumps, glides and follows after.


	18. Reunion

Toothless skims across treetops in the near-pitch black milky darkness with only half of his mind focused on the terrified passenger on his back. The man constantly re positions himself to try and achieve an elusive stable hold on the soaring Night Fury below him, however as Toothless shifts uncontrollably and unpredictably the threat of falling only grows more immense as they cover more ground. Hiccup follows, watching carefully, yet confident that even distracted his dragon would keep at least stable enough to retain his unwilling rider.

The hybrid relaxes into the rhythm of flying after awhile, enjoying the first true experience of flight, by itself, no real distractions. He keeps a fair height above the trees as a safety buffer, wincing every time Toothless grazes leaves and branches in front of him. The cool night air breezes past his scales and dark wings gently, the natural defenses against elements just as effective, if not more, than his vest. He pushes a bit harder for a few wing beats to bring himself alongside the Night Fury and addresses the leader of the Order, now stable, if not comfortable, on the ridges of Toothless' back. He demands a name.

:Adrian:.

:Could I have your name, too?:

:I'm Hiccup, this is Toothless:.

:Viking names...:

:It's a long story, trust me. Look, we need your help. I have an idea for a plan to get into the daemon's volcano. What I need from you is a good group of soldiers to form a distraction:.

:I don't have anyone on hand at the mo:- suddenly Adrian's view is tipped down from Hiccup to the trees rushing past below as Toothless tips slightly.

:Give my human what he wants!: The beast demands.

:Okay-Okay:.

Toothless levels out, allows Adrian to gather himself and lands a safe distance from Greisha and Lith. The daemon and healer are finishing the last scraps of dinner as Toothless sets down. Hiccup hesitates in mid-air.

Letting Adrian off his back, Toothless looks to his best friend still hovering above the clearing. Hiccup looks nervously back down at him.

:You've done this twice before, right?: Toothless reasons, :Just make each wing beat a bit more gentle than the last:.

Slowly, clumsily, Hiccup lands, making contact with all four limbs to feel secure as he does so. :I didn't even think about it those other times. We've been through some crazy stuff this last week, learning to fly didn't seem so extreme I guess:.

:I'm here, Hiccup. I'll make sure you get lots of practice:.

:Thanks, bud:.

As Adrian composes himself, runs his hands through windswept hair and fixes his evening gown from it's ruffled state, he notices an old woman has approached him in the darkness.

"Adrian. Don't act so disturbed, you've worked with so many dragons."

Shocked, he squints and rubs his eyes. "Mother?"

"Adrian, I've been gone a long time. I'm not impressed with what you have done to my organization."

He quickly checks the surrounding area, grimaces. "Greisha, please. You don't have to worry about that kind of thing. All I wanted was a simpler life for you."

:So you exiled me:. She scratches an itch on her forehead, exasperated. "You never wanted to open your eyes, Adrian. There is more to the world than monsters and heroes, child."

"Fine, mother. What do you mean?"

"You always saw dragon-kind as ferocious beasts, never to be trusted. Destroyers. Hoarders. Look at these two". Greisha nods towards Hiccup and Toothless, barely distinguishable through the night, now chasing each other over the landscape in leaps, bounds and bursts of flight. "This Night Fury is so compassionate he has taken one of his natural enemies as a mate. Do you see how deeply they trust each other?" she denotes, watching as Toothless tackles the small hybrid and tries to pin him, getting a laugh from Hiccup as he tumbles to the ground. The moon escapes from behind a cloud and the scene is brilliantly illuminated; Hiccup dodging around as the terrifying Night Fury swipes at him with deadly claws.

Adrian shakes his head slowly, taking in the scene with wide eyes. Hiccup did look strange, scaled and topless with slender wings and piercing green eyes. However he was decidedly human, and the scene was so strangely normal it stunned him. Two creatures of similar intelligence. One weaker, yes. One more prone to greed and violence, of course. But a perfect match, for all he could tell. For all the Night Furies strength and power, it was exceptionally playful and careful when it wanted to be.

Greisha let him take the scene in. "I'm sorry I couldn't be around to help you see. I was always so absorbed in my work... Adrian, these daemons must be stopped. We came across one who can tell us what we were always missing; inside knowledge of their lair."

"Mother, I..."

"Don't worry. The past is done. If you focus on the now, we can do some good for the world."

He accepts the hand on his shoulder with a nervous, yet honest smile. "Thank you."

* * *

Although Adrian was slow to trust Lith, the two soon came to an understanding. Much like breathing fire, magic is a volatile and dangerous power in itself; an unknown. However through their shared language Adrian learns a fair amount of the basics of magic casting as the group wound down for the night he gained an amicable, if not friendly relationship with the daemon and dragon-kin before falling asleep that night.


	19. Prep

A dark eyelid slowly opens, blinks. Opens wide. Dark rectangular pupil. Green iris. Toothless swings his head around. _Where is my little one? Hiccup? _Darkness still barely clung on as the very first signs of sunrise peeked over the horizon. He stands up and paces around, noting Lith, Greisha and Adrian still slumbering quietly against their gear with coats as blankets. _Humans are such fragile things, _he ponders, feeling no cold himself. :Hiccup?: He tries, scanning the surrounding treeline. No response.

:It's true what they say about dragons:, Lith remarks as he walks up and stands at Toothless' tail. :Dream weavers. Sharers:.

:Huh?: Toothless replies, hazy.

:I shared your dream last night, Dragon. I didn't mean to pry, and I tried not to. My apologies:.

:Have you seen my human?: Toothless asks apprehensively, still searching around with his emerald eyes wide.

:He left not long before you awoke. I think that viking girl came for him:.

Toothless strains every fiber of his being to not lash out. Miraculously, he remains still and calm despite the overwhelming anxiety in his heart.

:Toothless, can I ask where you were? In the dream?:

:I dream of that place a lot. I met Hiccup there, in that cove:. Toothless has already started off in search of Hiccup; he adds hastily as he walks off :Stay there daemon, I have more to ask of you:.

* * *

"Astrid?" Hiccup wonders. The silhouette pauses mid-stride before him.

"Hiccup, I just realized I can't go back. The lieutenants will want to see my journal, and know more about the 'daemons' I saw." Astrid smirks a bit at the situation, and as the moon gently lights the scene Hiccup sees the book still in her coat pocket. "It's been a hard week, right?"

"That's one way to put it."

"Hiccup, I think I might go and see some old friends of ours, since everything's so messed up right now."

"Old friends? Berkians?"

"I didn't get time to tell you, but I hitched the boat off Berk with Fishlegs and his parents. They live up the coast and fish the ocean around here."

Hiccup felt a surge of happiness at the news. "Fishlegs. I have so much to share with him. Thanks Astrid."

"Hiccup I-" Astrid, usually the composed and confident one, felt lost for words to say goodbye.

"Uhh, I'll see you later then, huh?"

"Yeah." Suddenly Astrid jumps at Hiccup and envelops him in a bear hug. "It was good to see you, for one more adventure."

"You saved Toothless back there. He wouldn't admit it. That he needs saving sometimes, or that you're a capable sheildmaiden."

"That dragon..." Astrid kneads her fingers over her temple, "You really just left us with him and made a new life? That's so insane Hiccup."

"We did what we thought was right. That's all."

"I won't say it wasn't right, I just wish you had given us a chance. I don't know, Hiccup. Look at you. Is it not weird to take on the features of a dragon like this? To live exactly as one of them?"

The moonlight shimmers off Hiccup's fresh wings and scales as the Hybrid turns, stretches a little.

"It's exciting, and a little nerve wracking sometimes... Weird? When was I not weird?" He tries to shrug casually, and fails. It's an unconvincing gesture, made more awkward by how close Astrid is.

Astrid wonders for a second, and it looks like she's conflicted over something. The tense moment is broken when she notices the rising sun. "I'd better go. I have to catch Fishlegs' folks before they start for the day."

Hiccup nods, gives a small wave as the young viking jogs off, blonde hair showing where the dye had worn off. A flood of relief overcame him knowing his differences with Astrid had been settled somewhat.

Small doubts linger in the recesses of his mind as he starts back towards the group. Had Astrid held that hug for too long? Did she want to say something else? The singular fact he had never really connected to another human on a personal level, besides maybe Gobber, struck Hiccup hard. He remembered distant memories of Gobber commenting on women; 'Women arn' meant to beh understood, Hiccup. Don't even try.' "Hmph," Hiccup grumbles. _I did a pretty good job at not having to. Or having to understand a lot of the things humans do, I guess._

* * *

As the Night Fury prowls, he tries his best to clear his mind. For all the effort, horrible visages haunt his mindscape. Of Hiccup. Of the viking girl. The worry that had planted itself a while ago and festered ever since. The girl was so brazen and confident, only showing fear when Toothless confronted her or stared her down. And if there was the slightest inkling of a chance Hiccup doubted himself, his relationship, his dragon. She would pounce on it. She would make him realize he was human.

_They're meant to be together, don't you see? You have poisoned this boy, snatched him from his rightful place._

And another voice in his head: _This is __**your**__ human. The one who saved you. The one you taught so much, learnt so much from. He __**gave**__ himself to you. How could you think that could just end?_

In the vastness of the pre-dawn wilderness, the two managed to find each other. Toothless sneaks up on Hiccup, pounces, locks the boy into a fierce hold. With his arms pinned on the ground, Hiccup cannot find the will to speak, and looks at his dragon with a strange mix of curiosity and distress.

Toothless bares his teeth and _ROARS _at the hybrid, shaking the trees and scattering wildlife . He towers over with heavy breaths down at Hiccup, locking aggressive eyes with him. Smelling the fear. _Fear?_

:You know I won't hurt you:.

:I-I'm not so sure right now. The last time you were like this, was the last time you were going to kill me:.

:But I didn't:.

Hiccup doesn't need to respond. There's an unspoken remembrance of why things are as they are.

:You like that girl:.

:What? Everybody in my village liked that girl, Bud. That was such a long time ago, in my mind. A different life. I never wrote down everything about her, or drew her, or made things for her so we could do amazing things. And that's not because she ignored me. It's because she didn't inspire me. She didn't do anything to me, for me. Nothing in my life back then made me wonder at what could be the way a terrifying Night Fury did:.

Toothless releases his hold. _That's pointless, _he thinks, _Hiccup would lie still for me anyway._

Hiccup looks disdainful. :You already know all this:. He plants a hand on the ground and pushes himself upright. He lets himself fall over Toothless' dark spade head, feels the ridges against his stomach and chest. Warm air brushing against his bare feet; Toothless' breath caressing him where the hybrid's scales taper off at the ankle.

:I still need someone to teach me to fly:.

It's an undeniable truth. If they were to leave each other now, Hiccup would be left with the flight skills of a hatchling.

:Hrmph:. Toothless pushes Hiccup off him and starts walking.

:You don't want to admit I'm right:.

Toothless gives him a look that says 'whatever.' Hiccup ignores the gesture and catches up, lays a hand on the dragon's head. Toothless stops and looks at him, but the touch is comforting and reassuring; he can't bring himself to be irate anymore. Hiccup trails his soft hand down under, along the Night Furies' neck. Toothless gurgles unwittingly as his scar is caressed, starts to lose himself as his eyelids droop and bliss takes hold.

:You can't resist me:. Hiccup removes his hand.

:Arrogant whelp:.

:Stupid dragon:.

The hulking dragon seethes as he voices a low menacing rumble at the hybrid walking so casually from him. He readies himself, tensing all powerful leg muscles, and leaps after Hiccup. He misses by an inch. Hiccup leaps to a branch and clambers with limber arms and legs through the trees, Toothless in hot pursuit as the dragon takes off and follows from the air. He strains to follow the small figure through the treetops in the weak morning sunlight, and quickly loses track. Grunting, Toothless resolves to make it back to camp, unsatisfied and lusting.

* * *

:I was actually very scared of lightning as a hatchling. I would curl myself into a ball in the deepest reaches of our cave and hide. All Night Furies fear death, even the youngest of us are very cautious learning to fly and breathe fire. Many other dragons are too eager to fly as soon as possible and will plunge themselves off cliffs as soon as they can. It's our way to hold back when it's needed:.

Lith nods, curious yet polite. The daemon probes for details on the dragon queen, Hiccup, and how they managed to work together so well.

:Hiccup has such clever paws, and such a clever mind. Had anyone else found me shot down they wouldn't have thought twice. Hiccup had the insight to cut me free, and the ideas to get me to fly again... As uncooperative as I was:, the dragon smiled, remembering the sour mood he first had when Hiccup found him those first few times. :Hiccup is so relentless with his ideas, determined. I never thought we would get anywhere, crazy as it all was:.

As lost in thought as he is, Toothless doesn't notice the hybrid, arms full of gutted fish until Hiccup trips and drops his bounty onto the lying dragon. Toothless, startled, immediately jumps up and bares his teeth.

"Easy, bud!" Hiccup exclaims, trying to pry himself off the grass but constantly slipping on the morning dew.

Toothless watches him struggle for a second before biting onto Hiccups arm, teeth retracted, and pulls him up. :I'll take that as payment for the fish. Eat up, big dragon:.

Toothless looks around at the fish and smiles, gurgles happily. Hiccup digs into one and throws another two to Lith and Greisha.

The old healer catches the fish. Raises an eyebrow. "You fished all these yourself this morning?"

"Of course", Hiccup remarks, "Toothless is a growing dragon, he needs to grow big and strong, right Toothless?"

Toothless purrs contently, too busy gobbling through his large share of fish to take offense.

Hiccup lays the last carp next to Adrian, still snoozing despite the noise.

"You already forgot that I prefer my meat cooked, huh?" Greisha starts up a small camp fire to skewer the fish over, and either the smell or the intensifying sunlight is enough to awaken her son.

"Fish for breakfast?" He wonders, but the sentiment falls on deaf ears from Toothless and Hiccup, who look confused at the possibility of eating anything else as a morning meal.

:Lith:.

:Hiccup. Your dragon was worried about you. I take it you were seeing off the human from your clan?:

:Yes. Toothless gets too worried, I was saying goodbye to Astrid:.

:I understand him well. He mentioned you have some big plans to infiltrate the volcano?:

:Yeah... How many people do you think you could carry there?:

The daemon pauses for thought, considers the question carefully. He runs his hand back over his head, pushing the hood off and revealing slick dark purple hair and two small, stubby black horns. If he noticed or even registered the Hybrid's reaction to his appearance, he shows no indication.

:I think I could take about thrice as much as the group I brought here, if I had the time to ready myself for it... Dragon Boy, this could take its toll on my body and spirit:.

:If you don't want to go through with it, I'm sure we could find another-:

:No. Let me speak to your mate, then I will decide if this is worth the cost:.


	20. Spikes

:Your boy _is_ very determined:.

The Night Fury nibbles around the last of his fish pile. :I bet he finds you intriguing. He's being polite, but Hiccup has to know as much as he can about every new thing he finds. That's why he wants to see your home, as well. He's as much curious about your species as he is frightened:.

:Does he know what he's doing?:

Toothless chuckles hoarsely. :I can never tell. He wants a group of soldiers to distract the daemons, and for us to sneak inside. Sounds plausible:.

:You can sneak past the entire guard into the heart of the volcano?:

:You haven't seen me work, Daemon. I can sneak past anything:.

Adrian gingerly approaches the hybrid leaning against a rock as he watches Toothless and Lith converse. On edge, he flicks through his notebook without seeing the writing. Hiccup's eyes flick up, and he scratches his neck where his hair meets scales.

"Uh, Hi."

"I don't know what that old woman sees in you" Adrian scoffs. "You can use my first guard. I want them back safe."

Before Hiccup can bring himself to respond the man has already made off for the forest. Greisha meets Hiccup with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry my son is in such a mood, but I made him see reason eventually. If you think his men will help, I trust you child."

"Adrian looks pretty eager to get back" Hiccup frowns. "I guess you will be heading back to the castle too?"

"Yes. And... Thank you, Hiccup. If I can see my mission finished before I pass, everything might be worth it. If I don't see you before you leave to undertake the task, good luck. I trust you two to make the best course of action."

The boy is noticeably flustered now. "We will do what we can."

"That's all I ask." With this, the old healer follows her son, and Hiccup tries his hardest to ignore the foreboding feeling of pressure. He pushes off the rock and looks around. Toothless is gone, Lith remains as the only remaining key to the open sky. The daemon's expression is unreadable and he sits against the boulder at the opposite side of the clearing, watching the hybrid.

Both heads turn to the sky as a falcon swoops overhead and cries out, and is answered by a somewhat distant, yet familiar, roar.

As Hiccup approaches Lith, he sees the distant visage of his mate chasing birds through clear blue sky. There's the sound of seagulls, a reminder of their proximity to the coast, and a very faint smell of the sea intermingling with the ever present autumnal scent. At the back of his mind, he feels a great longing to be with the one he has always flown with, and this knowledge of the _wrongness_ of not flying alongside Toothless bears down on his resolve.

:You look distressed:.

:I've got a lot on my mind; Hiccup confesses. :If I know your answer that would help:.

:I like you, Dragon Boy. And I like your dragon. If I do this for you, would you repay me the favor?:

Hiccup hesitates for a small moment. :Yes:.

:I want freedom, for myself. I want to know how to hunt for myself, how to barter with the humans. Would you teach me?:.

:Okay. Everything goes to plan, I'd be happy to:.

Hiccup allows himself a smile. _For all the complications, this plan may work out!_

He unfurls his wings, pauses. It's his first time taking off from a level plane, and the absence of height to assist his takeoff makes the process somewhat foreboding. He crouches down and lays his palms against the grass. On all fours, he spreads his wings level and beats them down. It's good enough to provide some lift. He awkwardly brings himself up in the air with a few more downbeats, slowly easing into a comfortable rhythm. Toothless glides up under him and lands the boy onto his back, pushing them both up into the air.

:You're too clever Hiccup, you're getting the hang of takeoffs just fine on your on initiative:.

Hiccup is about to reply when he feels himself drifting into a haze, and recognizing the feeling from when he grew his wings by the river, he lets it take him willingly.


	21. Intimidator

Hiccup wakes up to the all familiar feel of a large tongue tracing across him, except this time it's different. He tries to open his eyes, but they're so heavy and crusted. There's something new, something alien. Some part of him has changed. Well, he knew _that. _But here was some new muscle. He tries to move it, and it responds well enough. He sweeps this new part of himself across the ground behind him, and hears a curious sound alongside the rustling grass; Toothless' noise of interest.

It's enough to fully wake him up and look around at the slim midnight-black tail at the end of his spiked back, behind his folded wings. Toothless gives him an apprehensive small smile and brings himself around so his tail is parallel with Hiccup's. For all intents and purposes, they are entirely similar in all aspects except size.

Hiccup chuckles and wearily mutters "Cool".

:Do you want a bit more sleep, little one? This must be a lot to take on at once:.

The hybrid pushes himself off the ground, Toothless there beside him. The tail is long enough to just brush along the ground, but it's also almost effortless to lift and walk with. Given enough time it would probably feel just as natural as his wings are starting to feel.

:No, let's go to that castle and show them what a Human-Night Fury hybrid looks like:, Hiccup grins, still giddy from whatever haze overcomes him and makes off to the stone walls he spots. Toothless follows beside him, and the Hybrid nuzzles between his ear-plates as they walk.

"Thanks, Bud. For being here."

:That's what I'm here for:.

And as the sun traces is lazy arc towards the center of the sky they walk in the comfort of each others company. At times Hiccup tries pawing his way on all fours, and as strangely natural as it feels, it's way too rough on the hands. At times he contemplates flying with the new tail, but it seems something best left for later.

They stroll into the castle fore yard casually enough. The imposing sight of the dreaded Night Fury and it's human counterpart parts the tide of training soldiers like a wave. Hiccup laughs when Toothless turns to one of the frozen archers and roars, piercing the now silent atmosphere and making him stagger back and lose his balance. The man falls back into the dirt and scrambles until he reaches the blacksmith's hut at the edge of the yard.

They find Adrian holding lunch in the dining hall with his generals. When Hiccup and the dragon step in they are met by a stunned silence and wary looks. Toothless waves his head in the direction of one of the doors and Adrian follows them to a side room to discuss how long they would have his soldiers, their armaments, and where they were going. It all didn't seem to matter too much to the Master of the Order, but he nodded appropriately and showed as much respect as would be expected of the Night Fury kind.

Greisha finds them saying their goodbyes and preparing to leave at the main entrance. She nods a few 'hello's' to the elite guard as she meets Hiccup and Toothless for the last time before their journey to the volcano.

"I don't know what else I can say besides my well wishes, but do take this healing balm, young ones".

Hiccup receives the gift with a grateful hand, and sees the look Greisha gives him as he does so. She phrases her next words carefully.

"I must admit that after a lifetime of learning, I still know nothing of how a dragon can affect it's mate. If you return to me as a fully-fledged Night Fury, or a stunning hybrid, Hiccup, promise you will stay a while and let me learn about this effect."

"I hope I will be more than a subject to you." Hiccup mock protests.

"You will be a valued friend. As will your dragon." She smiles at Toothless, who gives a lighthearted warble in response.


	22. Daring

After a quarter hour trek from the castle his back ceases to ache. His tail feels _**right **_dragging across the ground, protected as it is by hard leathery skin. He flexes his wings as much as he can, feels their weight, their _**power.**_ Finally, when curiosity and raw instinct overtake apprehension, he spreads his sleek, glossy Night Fury wings in front of the soldiers. A pause. He drops to all fours, because that's what feels _**natural**_. He casts a quick glance at his partner. Toothless lets him know with one look; Support. Guidance. Faith.

Hiccup doesn't hesitate. He beats down with one swoop and takes fight. Toothless follows suit. They hover there, and Toothless gives an exalted warble to his other half. Without thinking, Hiccup replies in kind. The elite guard following is stunned, and mutter between themselves in hushed whispers. Hiccup lifts himself higher, then swoops down and banks his wings. He glides in circles around the larger Night Fury, and all it can do is watch with a huge smile and open eyes.

Hiccup banks around Toothless and flies onto the waiting dragon's back, who cranes his neck around to receive a lick between the eyes.

:That's my move!:

:Catch me; Hiccup dares.

Hiccup takes off and quickly reaches the clearing where Lith awaits. He straightens himself and divebombs at the Daemon, narrowly missing him. With ground quickly approaching, he braces his wings against the wind and desperately beats back. It's not enough. He crashes into a tree trunk, his feet barely softening the impact when he slams into the unforgiving hard wood.

Toothless glides down gracefully behind him and snorts.

:Impudent whelp:.

Hiccup groans. :Overgrown lizard:.

Toothless chuckles hoarsely. :You can't say that anymore, Hiccup. Look at who's talking:.

:Shut up Toothless!:

:We need to work on your landings. You still haven't got the hang of a standstill landing yet, let alone whatever that was:.

Lith smiles at the two, watching the soldiers file onto the grass field. :Night Fury, Dragon Boy; he addresses the two.

:Give me a second; Hiccup moans. He lies back against the tree and takes note of the Daemon as his back aches and bruises. For all he can tell, Lith seems more relaxed and at peace than he left him. He wore his hood, but also a healthy smile on his face. Hiccup could see the two small indents created by his horns under the top of the hood. _Probably best to keep those hidden_, he muses.

The soldiers wearily, cautiously fall in line behind the three daunting males deciding their very fate. The group of around twenty armed men shuffle and mutter as they eye up the Night Fury – The most dreaded and mysterious dragon known to man, and the Hybrid – As much Night Fury as the dragon beside him, but if anything even more foreboding due to his strange form. The hooded man is somewhat normal compared to these two – although his dark clothing and abnormally gray skin would seem out place anywhere else.

Toothless greets Lith with a raised paw – it's huge compared to the Daemon's human sized hand. Lith accepts the gesture readily. _It's contractual, _he realizes. _He's trusting me with his human, and if Hiccup gets hurt under my watch, I get the blame. _

They lock eyes. Toothless is still coming down from the high of flying with his mate, lending a cheerful disposition to his spade head as he closes his large claws around the smaller hand with as much finesse as he can muster.

:You know the place?:

:I found it. We leave on your boy's command:.

The day gives its last gasp as Daemon and Dragon turn to Hiccup. He has become, after all, the leader of the mission. As the sky sweeps into a plethora of brilliant oranges and yellows he nervously turns to the waiting soldiers and tries to speak. When he opens his mouth, he speaks a reptilian gurgling for a second, before his face goes bright red. His audience is stunned. Toothless paces up to him and nudges Hiccup gently as the viking places two fingers to his temple and tries again, resulting in a low rumble. When the soldiers start to back up Toothless rears up beside him and barks at them; they quickly fall into line, shaking and compliant.

Hiccup massages his fingers slowly over his forehead. Toothless walks up to the men and stalks down the line. Slowly. Heavy steps. He growls ever so softly. To disrespect Hiccup is to disrespect _**him.**_

He reaches the end of the line. Turns. Towers over the sniveling creature and growls. The soldier backs up, and so in turn does the one behind him. Soon Toothless has corralled them into a compact bunch, and he waves his head in the direction of Hiccup and Lith for them to join him.

They join hands in the stillness of the undisturbed clearing. It's quiet. Lith closes his eyes in concentration.

* * *

Suddenly, they are rushing over the crashing waves, indistinguishable as they are in the blur of feeling and rushing speed. They crash down on a desolate shore before a great towering rock face. It's geology is harsh and dark, the island holds no sign of vegetation or any life on it's surface.

* * *

The increasingly panicked soldiers try to muster at the face of the steep cliff, and look around with wary doe eyes, muttering between themselves in a few varied languages.

Hiccup leans down and touches the chalky ash they walk on. It's harsh, yet brittle. Befitting of the monstrous dragon that held claim to this island and wrought so much destruction onto so many in her rage and arrogance. Toothless sniffs the ground; warbles and looks with sad eyes at the uninspiring rock around them.

:Bad memories, eh Bud?:

:We made so many sacrifices at this place. To think it holds an even greater evil...:.

:That thing destroyed my entire home, and almost killed off your kind. I won't let anything like that happen ever again, Toothless. Nothings ever going to happen to you, or me. I won't let anything tear us apart:.

:I trust you:.

:And I trust you. You're my dragon. A Night Fury:.

:You're a Night Fury too:.

:I don't know, Bud:.

Hiccup turns to Lith, the Daemon is awaiting instruction against the base of the side of the volcano; a steep cliff face.

:Is there any way we can keep in touch? You must have some kind of magic for that, right?:

:Yes, Dragon Boy:. Lith is clearly exhausted, his eyes half lidded and tired.

:Teach me:.


	23. Ash

Such a dry wind. It lifts up ancient, pitch-black ash from the hard ground and sweeps it along the desolate shoreline. The only sound is this wind picking up and scattering ash everywhere, and it keeps on collecting in Hiccup's hair as we trudge along, trying to find the way into the heart of the volcano. We left the soldiers behind with Lith. Hiccup obviously trusts that Daemon enough to handle a small platoon of troops.

It's so very nice to be with him. Just us. I wish Hiccup could enjoy the moment of finally being together by ourselves, instead he's thinking. He's thinking very hard about something. Some _Hiccup_ thing. Something _Creative_. Something _Different_. Some kind of _Plan_. He has this look on his face, and every time he puts his hand through his hair to brush the ash out he closes his eyes for a second and 'hmm's.

Finally, he speaks.

"Grrraaaaa-"

I can't help chuckling.

Hiccup gives me that look. That serious look. No time for games.

:I don't know what's going to happen to me:. _Such a simple statement. It's not like him. He's worried._

It dosen't matter. We. Us. That's what matters. :Hiccup:.

:Toothless; He responds. _Good._

:Yes. Good. Us:. I give his bare back a lick to reinforce the message, feeling the bumps of his spikes the way down.

Hiccup still has his pants on, tail sticking out of the hole he cut for it, but it's unsure how long they will hold up. I'm sure he could fix all the rips and tears with the right materials. It will be something he took into account. He sweeps his tail across the ground as he looks at me. But he averts his eyes from my gaze, and speaks.

:The inside of the volcano has the same color rock as out here. Black:.

Why would that matter? :Yeah, I remember:.

:Tooth, you're black. You fit right into this landscape, if you lie flat against the ground, no one can see you:.

:And same in the volcano!:

:Yes:. He nods.

:Oh Hiccup you are so very clever!:

He laughs. It sounds a bit more like my laugh, rather than a human one.

:But I don't have scales over my face and hands, Tooth. I'll have to improvise:.

He places one of his soft human hands onto the ground and scoops a handful of ash. He runs his other hand along his back, getting it covered in my drool. It's best not to question. I try to stay quiet.

He places his hands together, and the ash becomes sticky.

:You have so much spit, Tooth:. _That's true._

He runs his hands over his face, and the ash sticks. After a while, he has his whole face and hands covered.

:How do I look?:

:Get on all fours, so I can judge you:. _In a purely strategic manner, of course._

Hiccup's clothing is dark enough that from a distance he could be mistaken for a small Night Fury. It's awkward for him to stand on four legs, because of his heavy boots, but his lean musculature, tail and wings are... Very convincing. And appealing actually.

:Mmmf. Stay there:.

:No Tooth!; He protests, and standing up quickly, he bats my nose. :We don't have time for that!:

:Ow:. _There's always time for that._

:Come on, we have to keep searching. I'll give Lith a status report:.

Hard to believe Hiccup actually took the time to learn magic as soon as we touched down here. But the 'simple' communication spell _has_ been useful for keeping track of the other group and letting them know we're kind of making progress. He makes that same posture the Daemon does, fingers on his temple, and concentrates very hard for a few seconds. I check our surroundings. It's still quiet as it can be, the only smell a dry salt from the sea and rock.

There's something further along, a small figure. I focus on it. Hard to see at this distance, so I wrap my wing around hiccup and pull him behind a nearby rock so we won't be spotted.

:What is it Bud?:

:I think we're close. I've seen something, and it's probably a Daemon:.

:Are we ready to do this?:

I reevaluate my partner. :Put some more ash in your hair:.

There's already some in there, just because it's _everywhere_. But Hiccup allows me to lick over his mess of hair a few times, then works the ash through so it's thoroughly coated. He looks good. It's puzzling how Hiccup still protests at times about being licked. He secretly, and not so secretly, loves it.

Hiccup readies himself. :Let's stay silent for a bit. Don't want anyone hearing us:.

:I'll take the lead?:

He nods.

Then a wolf appears out of nowhere and leaps at Hiccup. It leads with it's claws and digs them into his chest, finding the weak points between his scales and tearing as they thud onto the ground. I lift a paw and swipe at the creature, batting it off my partner. It hits the ground away from us, yelps.

Hiccup moans. He's bleeding. Bad. The wolf regains it's footing and locks eyes with me. It's the same one that attacked us before. _Gorbechov? Is that what Lith called him?_ He's a Daemon.

He mustn't get away to tell the rest we're here.

:You fucking beast:. It growls.

He paws from side to side in front of me. I hold my fire; the creature is agile. I can't miss and give him an opportunity.

:Just give up already. Don't you see how the odds are stacked against you? Leave your little pet here. It's a whole lot easier for you if you just submit:.

:You want to get fried, wolf? Don't test me. You have no chance of actually hurting a dragon in a one on one fight:.

:It's cute, really it is. How you're trying to make this human one of _you:._

:I'm not. It doesn't matter what Hiccup looks like, I love him always:.

I fire at him. He dodges, catches a blow to the leg. A glancing shot, not enough to do real damage.

He smiles. His coat of fur is standing on edge but he talks calm.

:I don't have to hurt you, dragon. I just have to hurt your treasure:.

As he finishes the sentence he runs at me, and sidesteps last second, sweeps around and pounces on Hiccup again. Hiccup ROARS as soon as the wolf makes contact, and a spark lights in his eye. He throws himself back, causing the wolf to fly off and hit the rock behind him. Blood spays onto the rock. Hiccup's and the wolf's. It's panting frantically now; it wasn't expecting _that_. Hiccup rushes at the wolf in a flash of anger I've never seen from him before, and his prey is now terrified. The wolf is faster, just, and takes off. It leaves a blood trail behind that Hiccup starts to follow.

It's my turn to be the sensible one. I stop him with an outstretched paw. Hiccup glares at me in annoyance.

:He knows where we are! They're going to send everything they have at us!:.

:Have we ever let anyone stop us before?:

_**:Toothless!:**_

:Hiccup:.

He makes an annoyed sound and leans against the a rock with a sigh and a growl. I lick his wounds, for the hundredth time this week.

:Stop getting hurt:.

:Don't _"stop getting hurt"_ me! What are we doing, Tooth? What are we going to do?:

:I bet the cave entrance is up where I saw that first figure:.

:So you're saying we go for it?:

I shrug.

He moans, stands and paces for a few seconds. The cuts from the fight don't look too deep.

:They are going to send their soldiers out for us:.

I look at him questioningly.

:So we wait for them to do just that. Then there's no one left inside:.

That's a bit crazy. I want to tell him so. _He knows I think it is._

:Okay. Hop on:.

So he does. I check for anyone who might see us, and the landscape looks deserted. I take off and fly around to where I saw the figure before, staying high and out of sight to anyone not looking directly overhead.

Here's a good landing spot, a rock outcropping just above where the cave entrance should be. Far below us is rocks, and then sea. A gull cries out as I look down. It's the first actual wildlife I've seen since we got here.

It's a steep rock face, but climbable. My claws dig into the rocky ground and I can pace my way down slowly, Hiccup clinging to my ear-plates. I foot my way down carefully, digging my claws into the hard ground as much as I can with each step. There. That's the entrance. We're right above it, and there's no sign of life at all. Half expecting a trap, I perk my ears and listen.

Hiccup has his fingers on his head. He makes a hand gesture. I think it means _wait_.

After a while, the soldiers and Lith arrive below. Lith spots us, signals the soldiers to hold position and climbs unskillfully to our position.

He waits with us. We don't dare say anything or move the slightest.

Time passes, slowly. I notice Lith looking over Hiccup. He sees the makeshift camouflage and looks equally disgusted and impressed at our ingenuity. He knows what will happen to him if he fails us; or at least _one _of the things that could happen. I haven't really decided what I will do to Lith if he puts Hiccup in danger, as I'm not the type to maim or injure something that isn't outright trying to hurt me.

So we wait, and it grows dark. The moon starts to rise, the stars shine. We're in our element. If there is a better time to sneak into a place, I don't know of it.

I look over the edge. Nothing. The Daemons are cunning, sure. But if they are waiting, there is no way to out wait them. So I grip my claws into the rocky ground as secure as I can and crawl over the side of the rock lip. I plant my claws into the vertical face and poke my head down and into the cave from the cliff side. Inside, the place slopes downwards immediately. I can see the huge pit Red Death lived in, and the rock stacks all around it poking up so they almost reach my level. I feel Hiccup grasping my tail, pulling. I back up to meet him and Lith.

I gesture with my head to my back. Hiccup hesitates for a second, then gestures Lith to wait and climbs between my wings, arms around my neck and feet hooked behind my wings. He seems secure. I'm reminded of when we used to fly upside down with the harness, plummeting into a dive and looping out, barely missing the water's surface.

Hiccup pats my back. Once again I tentatively plant my claws into the rock face and climb down the surface. When I reach the lip again, I crane my head into the cave and smell, and listen. There's magma down there, and things live down there. I claw into the rock ceiling; there's small fissures along it I can dig my claws into for purchase. Here's the hard part, climbing along the ceiling. It makes noise every time I dig into the rock, and finding good spots to dig into is difficult. I'm more impressed by how my passenger clings so securely to me.

The ground is increasingly further down the further we go. Far enough down to be dangerous, but not enough to give me time to flip over and try to fly out of a fall. Eventually we reach the rock columns. I check our surroundings. Nothing.

I drop down and grip onto the edge of a column, then scramble up. Hiccup struggles to stay on, but manages to and I give him a 'sorry' look when he jumps off my back.


	24. Devious

So we stand on the rocky platform and look below. There's a dark abyss, much too dark down there to see what it holds. I could echolocate, but that would surely give us away if they didn't already know we're here.

I double check for any visible life signs. Nothing. I gesture, and Hiccup hesitantly climbs onto my back. I smell fear and excitement on him. It's best not to linger. I drop off the edge of the platform and glide quietly down into the abyss. Hiccup rubs his hands over my scales. His movements are slow, yet erratic and puzzling.

As we descend, the floor to this strange place materializes out of the black haze. _This is where she sat. The queen's throne._ The dark rocky floor holds a million million scratches, scorch marks, other imperfections to it's surface that betray it's ancient and bloodied history. _Could it be that even before Red Death, before the Daemons ruled this place, there was an even older inhabitant? How many stories does this place hold?_

I spot a ridge running along one of the walls and land softly. A large passage that takes up a quarter of the wall runs downwards further. Heat emanates from here, and the walls to it have many ledges that would give a clear running down without much chance of being spotted from below. As soon as I leap to one the heat source reveals itself; molten lava boils and churns in deep pools to either side of the walkway, just beyond the entrance.

Slowly now, checking all corners and stalking ever so quietly, we jump from ledge to ledge down the tunnel. Soon the ceiling opens up and we see what must be the home to the Daemons; A place cut from the stone into masterful architecture spanning the length of an enormous cavern. The natural logistics of the place are impossibly perfect. I know Hiccup noticed as he takes the time to gather his notebook and charcoal stick from his pocket and note it all down; the underground river that peacefully runs through, bordered by strange mushroom-like flora and the whole of the side we stand on holding a narrow magma lake that lit and heated the entire place.

"How does it all _**exist?**_" he whispers. "Volcanoes erupt, right? This one must have sat dormant for a thousand years for this to all _be here._"

I've been so overwhelmed and focused I hadn't noticed until now that Hiccup was speaking again. He seems to have got his voice back, a soft rasp underlying. How long it will last is uncertain, and I fear him changing yet again at the worst possible time, in the worst possible place.

_Come_, I signal. He mounts me and I quickly search for the best path to the most opulent-looking building at one of the higher tiers of the cavern. The gilded pillars and generally large stature of the place seem to mark it as a prime target to house the ruling elite.

I jump to the next suitable landing, watching all the time each small figure below us. The ground is somewhat sparsely populated for it's size, the creatures going about their daily business; farming, trading, blacksmithing. There's a few arches that span above the cavern and carry water to various places. They look remarkably similar to constructions we have seen before on our journey to Russland; on a southern detour we found a place where the people had created various interesting creations like these water-carriers, and Hiccup spent a lot of time sketching and remarking apon a lot of it.

I try to focus. Any slip, any noise could ruin the entire plan. It's not too hard to pace over each arch. There's even enough time to catch a sip of water from the channel I'm standing on. It holds a sweet mineral taste, course but not bitter.

Finally we reach the target building, drop onto the roof of it, and manage to slip around the back, dropping to the floor and leaning up against the wall. My heart beats fast. Hiccup drops off my back to the ground and I exchange a nervous look with him. He scratches his neck. Then he nods. He presses his ear to the door and listens. The door is made of some kind of hard fungal wood, and I notice the Daemons must also be capable of a few other crafts as well, because there are clear glass windows further along the wall.

Hiccup opens the door as little as he can. He peeks inside, then creeps in. I follow. Immediately he stops and waves me forward past the two doors to either side of us. A large part of the rock wall is carved out and holds a cell. A creature slumbers in it, but awakes when we approach. It's a dragon, older than me, but not by much. With every turn it makes, the warm light from the searing lava below reflects off it's scales, and they cast beautiful colors onto the walls of it's prison. It slowly unravels from it's curled sleeping position and stands. It's scales are like mirrors, taking the light they can and recasting it into a full spectrum. It's a species I've never seen before, so they must be as rare or elusive as Night Furies.

:You're the one he seeks!:

I'm taken aback. :Not so loud:.

:My apologies; the dragon says, but whether it is male or female I cannot tell. :I can't do anything for either of you, but if you release me from this prison I will aid you:.

:Where's the key?:

:That's the thing. The ruler of this place carries it around his neck. These are his offices, so be careful. He will be back at any second:.

The great beast paces closer to the bars that hold it and the colors scatter and splay over every indent of rock face as it sniffs and peruses Hiccup for a second.

:You; he addresses me, although I am still not sure of a gender and am altogether overwhelmed by the strange creature.

:Are very rare indeed; and he looks at Hiccup.

:But this human of yours. I have not seen one as like for some time...:

Hiccup's about to say something, to question this, but I dig my teeth lightly into his neck scales again and drag him with me, away, for we still have a job to do here and standing around talking will only get us caught off-guard.

Straight in front of us is a daemon muttering to himself in, of all things, the common Viking tongue. Sitting down and reading over paperwork he seems more like a librarian than one of the devious, cunning daemons I expected. When he notices _**us**_ and gasps it's clear he's just as surprised to see us as we are to see him. I bare my teeth and make to silence him before he can raise any alarm, but Hiccup halts me with a hand.

:We won't hurt you:.

The daemon is frozen in place and visibly stunned. Hiccup walks slowly towards him with an outstretched hand, but I notice, all too late, the daemon reaching for a lever below the desk. He pulls it, and a cage falls from the roof, slams down on me. The ground shakes. I'm trapped. Hiccup looks at me, eyes full of fear.

:Thanks for just giving yourselves up like this:.

It's their leader, obviously. He's dressed so well and carries himself with an air of importance, smug and self-righteous. He has dark hair, like all the other humanoid daemons I have yet seen, however he wears it free instead of under a hood. His eyes are wrinkled and aged. I hate him.

I can't stand it. He's going to do something to my Hiccup, I know it. I growl and roar and push between the bars of my cage. I fire plasma bolts at the leader, his henchman. The others that arrive and shout at me, try to restrain me but I lash at them and bite.

In the end they see I have run out of fire and energy and drag my cage into a hollow that seems freshly dug out of the ashen rock specifically to house me. The thought of rotting away here is awful, but the thought of never seeing Hiccup again is unbearable.

I spend the rest of the night curled up, the iron bars beneath me digging into me and making sleep impossible. I fear to dream for what I may dream; Of him. What they are doing to him. What I can't do to save him.

I lose track of time, but one thing stands out between me pawing at the bars, at myself, the agony of inaction and sense of helplessness. I heard a roar, from somewhere, and thudding, like something was hitting rock with force repetitively.


	25. Diplomat

Toothless went absolutely mad as soon as soon as they grabbed hold of me. He unleashed fire, hit one straight in the chest, knocking him to the floor, and singed another with a glancing blow. They took my arms and hauled me further along the hall to what looked like a room purpose built for interrogation. They throw me onto the floor. My scales scrape across the rock, my back aches.

The leader dismisses his bodyguards with a wave of the hand; He either believes I won't hurt him, or I won't be able too. But he's left me unrestrained, the only mark of my imprisonment the locked door behind me. The room is empty besides two chairs sitting facing each other, walls made of the same black stone ever present everywhere else in this place, rough and foreboding. It's just me, and the man who has been trying to hunt down my dragon.

He makes no move to be friendly, but steps towards me.

:I've heard of ones like you. My father spoke of those that would brave the dragon's territories to befriend them, thinking to gain themselves more power by allying with such powerful beasts. Outcasts, or particularly foolish adventurers. Occasionally, very brave souls who needed the dragons power would find one that accepted their offer:.

I can't speak, either in his tongue or mine. Some part of me has blocked the knowledge of how to speak, and overwritten it with fury, and darkness.

:So I wonder, how did you? They say you and this Night Fury defeated this dragon queen, and of course I am very grateful. Such a feat is very impressive...:.

Something catches my eye. The barred door to this room is open and a scarred, bruised wolf limps in. He scowls at me, catches my gaze and holds it. I can't help but feel anger at what he has done. He tried to tear me from my dragon, and I can't forgive. I growl a challenge, and he growls back. I see the leader try to hold the wolf back from me, and for a clear moment I want to talk, to ask about motives and what it is they desire.

Then, a primal feeling overcomes my very being, and I _ROAR_ and thrash and drop to the ground. My head pounds and my vision spins, but I feel myself grow and revel in the knowing of power. So I open my maw again and scream out at the injustice of being caged and kept from my mate, and a torrent of flame rushes up my throat and fires in a concentrated burst at the wolf facing me.

It hits him, and he hits the wall with a yelp and a thud. He lies there, whimpering. The other one has left. I pad over to the bars of the door and try to peer through, but my wide spade shaped head is too large to fit between the bars.

I can see the guards have left as well, and outside this room lies a bare hallway. Further down must be Toothless and the other strange dragon we encountered. Out of the shadow steps a figure. Hooded, like a daemon. However this one holds something. A key. He holds it up and smiles at me, as if he recognizes me. It's Lith. It's hard for me to think, but I know that the daemon must have done something to distract the others and obtain this key.

:Dragon Boy. That's you, isn't it? You've grown into a Night Fury:. He seems amazed. I snort at him, give a questioning look at whether he will actually let me out.

:I've sent those troops to the entrance to cause a distraction, and stolen the master's skeleton key. We don't have much time before they come back:.

He unlocks the door. We waste no time in finding Toothless, and I jump at my best friend, wrestle him too the ground and lick and nip his ear plates. It feels too good to reunite. He escapes my grasp and swipes me with his tail, but I swing myself around and wrap his tail with mine. The excitement and sensation of new feelings is overwhelming, infectious. I can't help snickering a dragon laugh and running my tongue over the ridges of my mate's neck. He warbles contently at the affection and relaxes from his tensed stature. We lose ourselves in the comfort and enjoyment of each other, until a loud, resonating growl pierces every corner of the room and shatters the comfort of the moment.

:Stop:.

We pry ourselves from each others grasp and look at the mirror-scaled dragon standing before us, nonplussed and stoic.

He paces a little bit closer, and the whole room shimmers with the light he reflects. He looks at us, then to the door.

:Come:.

Obediently, we follow. We step through the halls of this hostile, alien place, feeling no fear and muffling no sound. I look to this new dragon not as the strange beast of curiosity I did before, but as a friend and leader. I do not know what brings this feeling or why, but I no longer care. At least I still know my purpose here: To put an end to the evil of this place, in whatever way.

I walk beside Toothless through the main entrance and back into the main chamber, following our new guardian. As I watch the mirrored dragon survey the cave a fear overtakes me.

:Don't hurt them; I plead. But I can't speak, even through telepathy, so I nudge his shoulder and look at him through Night Fury eyes, the same way Toothless does whenever he really wants something from me.

He grunts. I don't know what power he has, what he knows or can even do to these creatures. But I know they are not completely the monsters they are claimed to be. One of them proved this to me.

He signals with a wave of his head; his silver eyes point to a group of humanoid daemons near he entrance of the volcanic chamber. He lifts off, and beckons us to follow. Toothless croons at me;

:Watch me, follow:.

He pushes off the ground and pushes down with his wings. He keeps his fins straight and stable as he lifts off, and maintains this as he gains altitude.

I concentrate, push off the ground and push down as he did. I take to the air and watch him as he angles himself to follow 'Mirrors' in a gentle glide. It's a simple name for an imposing dragon, but I feel Mirrors could be as gentle and cute as Toothless if he wanted to, so it fits as well.

We land in front of the daemon leader, his guards and lieutenants. Mirrors unleashes a powerful roar at the daemon leader, overbearing the smaller creature with a dragon's sheer size and force. It's clear that he is furious at being held against his will, held from his freedom. It's a familiar feeling. I have shared dreams with Toothless about his years chained to the Queen's demands, felt the anger, the injustice of it.

Under the crisscrossing aqueducts and beside pools of molten lava, we face each other. The daemons fear to provoke us, yet Mirrors is too caged my his anger to speak.

:Surface dwellers; their leader scowls, :So impudent. What entitles you to the surface? Tell me? What is so great about you that you can have it all whilst I suffer my days without sunlight?:

I try to speak, but my voice emerges as a smooth growl. So I growl at him, and pace forward once to push as gently as I can at his chest and nudge him backwards, towards the exit.

Mirrors and Toothless realize what I intend, and although they scoff, Toothless warbles at the larger dragon and he concedes to my plan.

:Come. Experience; He demands of the daemon.

Stepping out into blazing sunlight, we breathe the fresh air of the viking archipelagos and listen to the distant call of gulls. Waves crash against the small resilient volcanic island. Cold wind batters.

I nudge the daemon towards Mirrors. I know what can make someone appreciate the world.

Mirrors frowns at me. He gently lowers his belly to the ground and allows the apprehensive daemon to mount his back.

We take off and start flying. I follow Toothless' lead, and he gladly patterns his wingbeats so they are easy to follow and predict. He leads the group north, and we fly under his direction for many leagues until we reach a vista of shimmering rainbow lights and land upon an icy plateau.

We watch the colors shape and shift and bend. We marvel at the beauty and impossibility of the spectrum wave.

:One day me and Hiccup will find where these colors come from; Toothless remarks.

I growl at him to be quiet, that was only an idea. Perhaps the colors come from the same place the moon and stars do, and are unreachable.

On the flight back, Toothless loops around me and barks to the moon about us. He croons, and does so as a melody of dragonflight and colors, and the masterful constructions of the daemon underworld. Mirrors and I join in, and after a while the daemon smiles.

We land back on the volcano. Mirrors growls at the daemon and shakes his head at us.

:I am the last of my kind; The amazing dragon says. His mood is dark again.

:I will not leave this world to YOU:.

Mirrors is looming over the daemon as if to smite him right there and then, at the end of a cold overcast day on a forgotten island at the end of the world. His prey speaks back.

:I won't have it:.

What he says next is blocked out by a piercing screech in my head. It grows from a din to an all-encompassing roar. My vision blacks out, and all my feelings numb.

* * *

The next thing I see is a loving dark scaled face looking down at me, but his eyes are closed.

:It scares me what I've done to you Hiccup. I'm sorry. Please, just come back to me and I promise I'll try to make it so you can be a normal human again. I don't know how. I just don't know what I've done:.

I look at my hand. It's small, and pale. Scales run up to my wrist. I smack Toothless over the jaw. He opens his eyes, and smiles. He's ecstatic to see me, like he always is. His eyes glisten in the starlight and his paws rset on either side of me. Cold stone lies beneath me. The waves crash and the gulls call.

I get myself up, over so I'm on my hands.

I lay my hands on his paws.

:Being a Night Fury is amazing:.

I look as deep as I can into the green of his big eyes.

:I want to be as much as I can with you, and as much as I can like you:.

He humms, gently.

:We may just go where no ones been:.

It's what Toothless said to me long ago, shortly after we left Berk.

:I might just do what noones done; I say, and smile at him. I lay my lips on his.

We walk along the coast. The sea spray washes over us, and runs off our scales.

:I need some new clothes:. It's stating the obvious, but walking in the nude as a human-dragon hybrid was starting to wear thin at this point and I worried for how I looked to others.

:You look good:.

:Thanks:.

We flew back to the mainland and Toothless told me of all that transpired between the daemon and Mirrors. The pact they formed, so all daemons could see the world, live in peace.

I worried, as I do for dragons and humans, that peace could never be truly attained.

We landed at the shore near where we left. I praised Toothless' sense of direction. After scouting the area, we came across a small hut. I pilfered a set of pants, and left a dragon scale as a kind of payment.

As we landed at the castle and greeted Greisha, I tried to be optimistic. I told her of what we achieved and was proud. We infiltrated a stronghold and captured an enemy leader. A good day's work.

She welcomed us with welcome arms and a good supply of fish. We attended a banquet, and I sat beside Toothless at a long table. We feasted. I threw fish at Toothless and he caught them in he mouth. I threw them in the air and he blasted them with fire to roast them. We drank and sang.

We said goodbye as the sun set. We followed the moon, and chased the night. Toothless swoops down to a pile of rocks in the middle of the ocean, and we lost ourselves in each other.


	26. Resolute

Toothless yawned, opening his maw and scratching behind his earplate awkwardly with a clumsy paw. Midday, sunny, brisk. Hiccup lay beside him at his flank, idly scribbling in his notebook. Some kind of design for the tailfin. An improvement, or modification. The world turned around them, the small island of berk unknowing and somewhat uncaring of their presence in this secluded cove. Toothless lazily watched as shadows moved under the surface of the water, sending such very faint ripples across it's surface, as Hiccup likewise made ripples against Toothless with his busied movements, moving for a different drawing angle or to turn a page.

It was in this way that they spent their rest time together. When not mastering the art of flight, they would instead master the knowledge of each other; the things they could learn about their differences, what they meant.

Toothless was so relaxed with his rider by his side it was reaching a state of sereneness; bliss. He wasn't quite tired enough to fall asleep, and he enjoyed every little muttering Hiccup would make as he schemed and drew. Toothless had by this point learnt a great deal of the common Viking tongue, as well as it's runic calligraphy, and understood a great deal of what Hiccup said, even if he could not respond in kind. In the same vain, Toothless' range of body language and facial expressions were well known to his best friend, and they managed to communicate fairly effectively through both means.

It was all the more painful, Toothless mourned, looking over his beautiful viking beside him, that he could not just _**say **_the most important thing to Hiccup. The thing he dreaded and feared more than any Dragon Queen yet wanted more than the most succulent Icelandic Cod. It was so clear how close the two were, how they knew each others feelings, wants and desires. So did Hiccup feel the same to his dragon as Toothless did to him, that sharing everything _**but**_ each others bodies would never be enough? It seemed the young brunette could read every move Toothless could make and every unsatisfied desire he held, so surely he _must_ know.

He hummed, thrumming a gentle vibration through his entire body. Hiccup breaks his concentration and places his hand on the dragon's side.

"What is it, Bud?"

Toothless nudges his head under Hiccup and pushes the teen up with his nose. It's one of his favorite things to do, to smell all Hiccup's scents and move him at the same time, a subtle way to take control over the boy, yet gentle. Toothless places his outstretched paw over the patch of drawing dirt in front of them, marked and scorched as it is from such repetitive use. He runs the hefty paw in an arc, clearing a great swathe of the dirt. Then, he points a claw to Hiccup's mind.

:Clear; he says.

Hiccup looks at Toothless in confusion, not hearing the words at all. The dragon growls and repeats the actions slowly. _Clear_. _Mind_.

:I have something to tell you. Please:.

Hiccup looks outraged as he realizes what his best friend has requested. "You want me to stop thinking? Yeah Bud, and I want you to stop manhandling me every time I return." He smirks, grabs a stick and runs it in circles through the pure, unmarked dirt.

"Bite me." _Arrogance. Trouble._

It's not a challenge, but all Toothless can thing of is how much he would like to oblige that very request, to sink his teeth into Hiccup's delicate skin, hear him feel it, and know they are linked as Dragons, as Mates, as they are linked in every other way. He reacts to impudence in the way Dragons do, however, and skulks off to his tree, casting angry loathing glances at Hiccup all the way there until his tail is wrapped around the branch and his eyes are closed so he dosen't have to look at a Hiccup who won't do what he wants and can instead imagine one who will. And with a dragon's clear, vivid and endless imagination, that creates a very satisfying scene that leads into a dream of them together, nest in a warm cave, an unrealistically complaint Hiccup that will do everything his Fury demands, scratch Toothless on his neck in the _**right**_ places, not the ones that make him win arguments.

Hiccup sighed as he watched the sun reach the treeline. He would have to leave an angry Toothless to return to an angry or at the very least disgruntled Stoic. As he turned away from the hanging Night Fury in his tree, the teen failed to notice the growing smile on it's face or it's quiet gurgling at the wonderful dream enveloping him.

Hiccup reached the treeline surrounding Berk. An axehead slammed firmly into the tree next to him and an incredulous face greeted him

"You think you can just skip out on Dragon Training two days in a row, Haddock? That hiding out in the woods for whatever demented reason is actually _**okay?**_"

It was such a typical sentence to hear from Astrid these days, the prime reason why she had turned from a desire to an annoyance in Hiccup's mind. He knew that Astrid was much too focused in her own self-centered narrow goals to actually pursue Hiccup and see what captivated him so much as to deny a central program of her culture. Her own sense of self worth was much too high, her devotion to the pursuit of glory through slaughter so ingrained and supported by those around her that she felt it paramount above all else.

Hiccup still felt the sting of her first real spiteful comment to him in the dragon arena.

_No, it's not a joke to me. My parent's war will not be mine._

How he wished to tell her about the most caring, _**loving**_ dragon in the world. How very, very wrong she was about _**everything.**_ And yet Toothless came first, and Hiccup had already realized he would do anything to protect the one he had worked so hard for. Toothless had created the best times in his life, and he wouldn't let anyone endanger him. As if they would even believe Toothless was anything other than some heartless monster. No, he could never tell anyone about the wonderful creature he shot down and then nursed to health in that cove.

_There is no tailfin. There is no close calls with seastacks and rolling around in the grass and scratches on every part of his body. No fish. No sticks through the dirt._

"Hi Astrid." It was more of a groan than a greeting.

"Enjoy your dinner. Stoic knows about you skiving off. Even if you can work those little tricks on the dragons it doesn't mean you can just take several days off for no reason."

Dinner was awful. Stoic said nothing at all and neither did his son. They ate in silence until Hiccup finished his plate and ran upstairs. He just hoped Stoic didn't notice the smell of dragon on him, after a day of no dragon arena.

He ran up the stairs. He couldn't stop thinking about what Toothless had done. The dragon was so stubborn and moody, and Hiccup knew what he wanted to say to him. That a dragon, the enemy of his people, meant more to him than anything else ever could. That the last weeks had taught him more than the entire rest of his life, and his wisest clanmate, could hope to. He was happy. _**Toothless**_ made him happy. So if the dragon wanted something from him, he should happily oblige. It was his fault, after all. Toothless shouldn't even be crippled like this, or stuck with him on an island of angry vikings. He went to sleep, resolving to run to his dragon first thing next morning and do whatever he wanted.

The next morning, Hiccup woke before his father and left as quiet as he could. He didn't stop to get breakfast. He could fish with Toothless, as the fin he made was working well and they flew together perfectly on their last flight. He made it to the cove and searched for his friend. Toothless bounded up behind him and knocked Hiccup to the floor, the boy landing with an 'oof' as Toothless proceeded to enthusiastically lick all over Hiccup's body as the small viking laughed and tried to escape from the Night Fury's unyielding tongue.

"Missed me, huh?" Hiccup chuckles.

Toothless croons.

"I missed you too, Bud!" He jumps up and wraps his arms around the huge scaly neck as far as he can, face against Toothless' jaw.

Toothless breathes in his rider's scent, coated as he now is in dragon saliva. He gurgles happily, gently. Their faces are inches apart. Hiccup sighs contently back at him. Toothless moves an inch closer, and Hiccup does the same.

They touch lips, Hiccup's hands still on each flank of the dragon's neck, feeling the vibrations within as he closes his eyes.

Hiccup blinks, breaks off. He looks at his hands and wonders at what he had just done. Why? How?

He feels a tear roll down his cheek.

_I can't do that. I can't pretend at what I can't have. I can't get my hopes up like this._

He doesn't see the Night Fury sadly run his paw slowly over the dirt. But he hears it, a soft scraping. He knows what it means, but he doesn't know why. He _does_ know that he wants to know why. He wants it now more than anything. He pads over to Toothless and places his hand on the Dragon's paw as it continues to drift over the abused dirt.

He clears his mind, letting himself fall into the comfort Toothless' soft scales provide.

:-and you never listen and you always cause trouble and you always leave, but you're always so very clever and you're all so good for making me fly again, and I lo-:

Hiccup was so calm, and so happy. He didn't know _how_ he instantly recognized the voice in his head as Toothless, but it didn't really matter. What mattered was that he could now talk to his dragon about the complex things. The things he felt.

:Hiccup?:

Nothing had ever made him as afraid, and also as excited, as his feelings for the powerful beast now talking to him. All the crazy and impossible of what he had done to this point, however, seemed like nothing to the challenge before him now. He kissed a dragon. He shouldn't have. But what else could he do?

:Hey. It's okay:. Toothless' voice – soft and smooth as it was, with an underlying power and coarseness. Hiccup was aware he was crying, and of Toothless' wet forked tongue cleaning his cheeks af his tears.

Hiccup focused his thoughts and directed them at the dragon. He didn't know if it would work, but he needed to try.

:It's not! I _**kissed **_you, Tooth, and that's not right! I **CANT **do that!:

:Oh:. Was the only reply. Toothless looked defeated, and he paced over to his tree, leaving Hiccup to wonder at the ominous reaction. That was Toothless' tree. Every time he went there the dragon growled. This time, Hiccup didn't even try to follow.

Hiccup sat and threw stones into the pond, watching the fish scatter with each rock that hit the placid surface and occasionally glancing at Toothless' direction to the the beautiful dragon pretending to sleep, pretending to not be also watching Hiccup.

The scrawny teen eventually tired and turned his back on the cove, scrambling out and wiping his eyes of the tears shed. He was confused, and angry, and he punched every branch on the way home.

* * *

Toothless awoke with a **ROAR** and pawed at Hiccup to do the same. The smaller Night Fury roared back and beamed at his mate.

:That was the most vivid dream I've ever had:.

:Me too, Bud:. He plants a kiss on the larger dragon's nose.

:That was awesome:.

* * *

They glided gently down past the coastline and over trees. Reaching their destination, the Night Fury and his rider settle softly onto the ground, although it still causes a reaction as unwary training soldiers. Greisha is already there to greet waiting in the courtyard, and motions the soldiers to still themselves as Hiccup dismounts and greets her. Greisha leads the hybrid and his dragon into the main dining hall and serves lunch. Venison, Fish, chicken. It's a selection of the most common meats in a Night Fury's diet. Greisha's son Adrian watches from a doorway, idly chewing on a sandwich.

"I have come to a decision with the great dragon you found. 'Mirrors', as you called him, is an old friend of mine. He is perhaps the oldest dragon alive today, a Refractor from the west. Refractors are by their nature very solitary and secretive. Wexx would watch the world go by, camouflaged by his mirrored plates, learning much about all species and lands that he was kind enough to share with me. He is wise, and I trust him to watch over the daemons and ensure no more trouble comes from that damned volcano."

Hiccup nods. It's hard to know what to say. The mirrored dragon had an imposing effect on him and Toothless when they met, and the compulsion he felt to follow him as a leader was foreign and at first unnerving. However the more time he spent in the Refractor's presence, the more comforted and secure he felt, similar to how Toothless made him feel loved and playful. The opposite, he supposed, would be the Red Death's aura of fear and foreboding she had oppressed her slaves with.

Lith walks into the room and smiles at the humans and dragons he now considered friends. :Dragon Boy and Toothless Fury. You are two hard dragons to track down:.

Hiccup blushes. He was embarrassed for forgetting Lith after the daemon had done so much to help infiltrate the volcano.

"Lith, sit down. Eat." Greisha pulls a chair out for him and the daemon happily obliges.

:I'm still getting used to over world food; He smiles.

:Are your people going to be happy under the rule of a dragon?; Hiccup asks.

:Wexx is firm, but he cares. He completely changed the master's outlook on things. They fly together:.

It was the best news Hiccup could have hoped for.

"Greisha. Thank you for all this. Not just the hospitality or help, but the mission too. It was good to... resolve things." It was true; there was so much hostility he had harbored to Astrid, and so much he had to tell Fishlegs, his closest friend before he met Toothless. That he stopped traveling for a moment and got caught up in all this; Tooth's healing fin, the daemon encounter and their battles. It all made some kind of strange sense. If fate was real, it seemed _right_.

"No, thank you. For giving an old woman something to smile about. Something to remember, how things can be more than we think they can. How we dream of them to be." And she did smile, looking at the fearsome dragon, the strange hybrid shapeshifter, the friendly daemon.

:Dragon Boy:. Lith takes something out of his coat pocket. It's Hiccup's notebook.

Hiccup is stunned. :How? How could that survive?:

:Don't ask me, you're the one who became a dragon and somehow avoided tearing or burning the pages:.

It was incredible, and Hiccup reached for it. Lith snatched it away.

:You made a promise. To teach me to survive in the wild. To live as the Dragon Boy and Toothless One do:.

:Sorry Lith. We will, right now. If Greisha would excuse us:.

"Of course. Till next time."

They ignore Adrians scornful mutterings about daemons and dragons from the corner, wave to Greisha and walk out into the sunlight. Over the next weeks, they hunt and camp together. Hiccup learns more of Lith's magics and tells the daemon of how he focuses himself as a full Night Fury, how the primal urges of such a state cannot be fully controlled, yet they can be managed and he can be brought to a calm by Toothless.

Lith watches, captivated, whenever the young man unleashes his inner Fury and grows into a Night Fury. The process looked oddly calm, how he would simply grow and shift during the transformation. However his partner roars and seems to revel in the transformation, like it also awakens something in the larger Fury that contradicts his otherwise obsessively caring nature for the boy.

When like this they will do nothing other than chase, tackle and leap at each other; sometimes taking to the sky to pursue in spectacular aerial dives and stunts. After awhile they will vanish from sight, usually at dusk, and Lith will not see them until the next morning.

After many days had passed Lith thanked the Dragon Boy and his Fury. He left for the place Hiccup had mentioned; where aqueducts like the ones over the daemon cave and other marvelous constructions scattered a land of curious humans.

Hiccup and his dragon flew to the arctic icesheets and sat there, watching the waves of colors shift.

"Love this place... The lights."

And they embraced each other, knowing the warmth, and the freedom.

* * *

Hiccup stumbled into the cove, bright sunlight beaming down on him. He sheltered his eyes with a hand. He had put off seeing Toothless today. The urge to see him was great, but the fear was monumental.

The dragon was nowhere to be seen.

"TOOTHLESS," he yelled at the cove. No response. "TOOTHLESS, I'M SORRY." Hiccup had spent all night awake, flipping through his notebook. He started to worry. What if Toothless had left because of whatever Hiccup had said? He hadn't said anything wrong, had he? It was true, that he could not _do things like that_ with a dragon. Right?

He felt stupid. He felt worse than stupid, he felt confused. He normally enjoyed a challenge and liked to solve a puzzle, to work through the complexities and reach a solution. This time he could not. It was another thing they would never understand, that dragons have feelings, if anything, stronger that humans, and they are even more stubborn than Hiccup, if Toothless was any indication.

So then why couldn't he have an emotional relationship with Toothless? Because it's '_wrong'?_ _Everything Hiccup did was 'wrong'._

"Toothless, I like you, okay? I like you _a lot_, and I've been trying to tell myself I don't."

Things started to make sense. The way Toothless would be aroused in his sleep and murmur the same way he does when Hiccup touches him. _Was he dreaming of me?_ The way he would trace his drawings in the dirt; of a dragon and a human. _Us together. _Toothless wanted to tell him yesterday, Hiccup realized, and he ruined it, with his stupid overthinking. Toothless does what he wants, so why can't I?

The Night Fury growled behind Hiccup's back, towering over him.

:It's over today:.

:The heat is gone:.

:Time is gone:.

He leans down and nips at the teen's ear.

:Only way to change. Give yourself away:.

He grabs Hiccup with his gummy lips, clamping onto the collar of his vest. He swings the young viking onto his back and carries him to his bed of ash beside the tree. He settles them down onto the warm ash, thrumms happily as Hiccup rubs his neck just below the most sensitive spot. He trusts Hiccup to not scratch him there and put him to sleep when he wanted to be most awake. He growls and pants at the pleasurable sensations his rider's touch provides, and Hiccup explores the sensitive nerves on the contours of his dragon's neck in a way he had ever dared to before.

He notices the growing engorged genital slit between Toothless' legs, the red/purple member that starts to emerge. Hiccup had seen it before, from a distance as the dragon dreamed. Now, within reach and so inviting, he traced his hands around the base as Toothless crooned happily on his back, legs in the air. Hiccup re positioned himself at the base of the tail and slowly worked his hands up the length of the member, running his soft fingers over every bump and taper, each small ridge along the slightly pulsating cock.

He comes so close to the tapered head Toothless can feel his breath, so distinct and enticing. He growls, _**Go.**_ Hiccup doesn't need the encouragement. He can feel the need and pent up wanting and smiles as he locks eyes with the great beast and places his mouth onto the tip of his penis. Toothless exhales sharply, and struggles to keep himself still for his rider. But Hiccup teases by taking off his layers of fur, slowly revealing his slim body as he feels the astoundingly powerful tensed muscles he straddles at the base of Tooth's tail and legs.

Toothless murmurs curiosity as he watches Hiccup's cock pull free from his trousers. The teen places it against his; there's a noticeable size and shape difference. Then, he lowers his body backward, now lying on Toothless' tail to better access his prize. He once again wraps his mouth aound the head and works it downwards, eliciting gurgles and growls for his work. As he comes back up and runs his tongue around the small nubs underside the length, Tooth shudders and lays his paw onto the teen's head. He holds back on pushing Hiccup down his length again, instead resting the paw there and letting the boy find a comfortable rhythm. Soon, Hiccup speeds his motions and manages to take all but the very base, the head prodding the back of his throat as he also rubs his own penis against the base of Toothless' tail.

He can feel himself getting close from the constant stimulation of bucking against the very soft scales and knows Toothless will soon cum from the dragon's increasingly raspy and guttural moans. Toothless bucks against Hiccup's warm mouth, releasing a torrent of come. The teen climaxes soon after, mouth dripping with dragon come and spent against the belly of his lover.

The lay like this for a few afternoon hours, then wade into the pond to wash and spend the rest of their energy. Hiccup stays with Toothless for the first time that night, sleeping against the Night Fury's heart, under his wing.

End.


End file.
